The Coast Guard today announced that it is seeking comments by Tuesday, Aug. 18 on the possible establishment of 9 shipping safety fairways along the U.S. Atlantic Coast that were identified in the Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study in order to “protect maritime commerce and safe navigation amidst extensive offshore development on the Atlantic Coast.” The announcement notes that designations as fairways keeps an area free of fixed structures.
The Coast Guard states that it is coordinating the possible establishment of fairways with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in order to minimize impacts on offshore energy leases, and seeks information related to whether to establish coastwise and offshore fairways and, if so, how to balance ship routing with offshore development activities and other uses, including impacts of the potential fairways on navigational safety and other activities.
