§70001 Vessel traffic services

Summary

The Secretary may set up and run vessel traffic services (VTS) in U.S. ports, waters, or in areas covered by international agreements. These services can include rules for reporting and routing, surveillance and communications, and other steps to keep ships and the environment safe. Vessels in a VTS area must follow the service. The Secretary can require ships to carry or use certain navigation or communication gear, but cannot force this on fishing vessels under 300 gross tons or recreational boats 65 feet or less just because of this law. The Secretary can control traffic in dangerous or crowded areas by setting entry times, routing, size/speed/draft limits, or by allowing only vessels with needed capabilities. Ships may have to send prearrival messages so traffic can be planned. Devices that interfere with navigation or communications can be banned, except equipment certified to use the radio bands 157.1875–157.4375 MHz and 161.7875–162.0375 MHz. Within one year after enactment, the Secretary must create a national VTS policy (and update it regularly) covering roles, organization, training, procedures, data rules, and how centers may direct vessel movement. Local differences are allowed; Captains of the Port can propose regional policies and the Secretary must review them within 180 days and approve what is appropriate. The Secretary may make cooperative agreements, including with other countries, but cannot give private groups truly government-only jobs. The Coast Guard must remove identifying details before releasing incident data to the public. The Secretary must also create a standard way to evaluate VTS centers, collect data on traffic, hazardous cargo, near-misses, and casualties, and report to Congress within one year and then every two years. A continuous risk assessment program must be kept, using traffic data, hazardous cargo amounts, near-misses, casualty locations (with latitude/longitude), weather and seasonal factors, and NOAA coordination; the data must be kept in a standard format and made public under FOIA rules with identifying details removed. The Secretary must build national training and testing for VTS staff, set measurable qualifications, require a navigation-rules test for watchstanders, and require retesting no more often than once every 5 years. The Secretary will research better radio monitoring and whether placing professional mariners on watch floors is feasible, and must implement it where it proves useful. The Secretary may require automatic identification systems for certain non-self-propelled vessels carrying hazardous liquids after advice from an advisory committee. The Secretary will periodically review VTS areas using performance and risk data and consult stakeholders. Pilots assisting at a Coast Guard VTS center are protected from liability unless gross negligence or willful misconduct occurred. Notice-of-arrival rules for Outer Continental Shelf foreign-vessel entry do not apply to a documented U.S. vessel unless it comes from a foreign port. Nothing here reduces the Secretary’s other safety or environmental powers. Definitions (one line each): “hazardous liquid cargo” – meaning set by transport regulations; “marine casualty” – meaning as defined in regulations; “vessel traffic service area” – an area listed in the cited Coast Guard regulation; “vessel traffic service center” – a center that runs a VTS area; “near miss incident” – an event or series of events that could have caused a marine casualty; “de-identified” – removing information that would likely reveal who was involved.