The Coast Guard today announced completion of the Port Access Route Study for the Approaches to the Chesapeake Bay, VA, which was conducted to determine whether to recommend changes to enhance navigational safety by examining existing shipping routes and waterway uses as offshore energy development matures and to evaluate the need for establishing or changing existing vessel routing measures.
Study recommendations include expansion of the precautionary area between two traffic separation schemes, the addition of two connector fairways, and modifications to shipping safety fairways. The study will be submitted to the Office of Navigation Systems for consideration and potential inclusion in a future proposed rule for Atlantic Coast shipping safety fairways.
