The U.S. Coast Guard is asking mariners and other stakeholders to weigh in on a draft Pacific Coast Port Access Route Study, the “first comprehensive evaluation of vessel traffic patterns that use Pacific coastal waters off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington,” the agency said.
Oct. 25 is the deadline for submitting input on the study, which seeks to review the use of historic and future waterways to see if there is navigational risk and make recommendations that would uphold safety navigation.
This involves reviewing a decade’s worth of vessel tracking data, as well as various data such as environmental data, current and planned offshore development infrastructure and historical marine incident data, according to the USCG.
“There has been significant growth of waterway use along the Pacific Coast; we are committed to maintaining a high level of navigational safety for all members of the maritime community,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sara Conrad, activities chief for Coast Guard Pacific Area Port and Facilities. “This draft study provides recommendations that facilitate safe vessel transits along the coast and connect to major port approaches in light of the increasing demand for use of our waterways.”
The draft is recommending the creation of new voluntary fairways for coastal and nearshore vessel traffic with links to current Traffic Separation Schemes and ports.
Visit https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/port-access-route-study-reports for more.
