Safety Zone; Cable Laying Corridor, Atlantic Ocean, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Published Date: 1/15/2025
Proposed Rule
Summary
The Coast Guard wants to create a temporary safety zone along a 12-mile stretch off Virginia Beach where a cable-laying barge will be working. Boats and people can’t enter this moving zone unless they get special permission, keeping everyone safe from hazards. Comments on this plan are open until January 29, 2025, so locals and mariners can share their thoughts before it kicks in.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Year‑long 1,000‑yard safety zone
If you operate or travel by boat near Virginia Beach, you cannot enter a moving safety zone that extends 1,000 yards in all directions from the cable‑laying barge ULISSE while it works within 12 nautical miles of shore. The zone is enforceable from January 25, 2025 through January 25, 2026 and begins roughly 300 yards from the State Military Reservation shore.
Transit only by permission via VHF contact
You may transit the safety zone only if authorized by the Captain of the Port or a designated representative; mariners must contact the designated representative who will monitor VHF‑FM channels 13 and 16. If permission is granted, mariners proceed at their own risk and must follow all instructions; a designated representative may include the master of a U.S.‑flagged support vessel who can establish safe transit corridors.
No significant economic impact certified for small entities
The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, but asks any small entity that believes it would be affected to submit comments explaining the impact.
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