Coast Guard Navigable Waters Regulation

Current understanding

To be populated as evidence accumulates.

Evidence log

• 2026-08-26 — Anchorage Regulation; San Juan Bay, San Juan, PR: 2026 — Proposed rule would modify Anchorage D in San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico (33 CFR Part 110), shrinking its footprint so it no longer overlaps the San Antonio Channel used by deep-draft commercial traffic, reducing anchoring/transit conflicts. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-08-28 — Safety Zone; Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, and Severe Weather Events in the Sector Mobile Captain of the Port Zone: Final rule adds a Sector Mobile standing safety zone activatable for hurricanes and severe storms, illustrating Coast Guard use of navigable-waters authority for pre-planned severe-weather port controls. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-06-29 — FISH Act of 2026: 2026 — FISH Act of 2026 (HR9507) referred to House Committees on Natural Resources, Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Transportation and Infrastructure; multi-committee referral signals a fisheries-related bill with a nexus to maritime/navigable-waters oversight, though no substantive text is yet available. (novelty: 2)
• 2025-04-03 — Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act: 2026 — Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act (HR2620) referred to the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, situating any future marine-debris amendments within the same subcommittee that oversees Coast Guard navigable-waters authorities. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-15 — Safety Zones; Recurring Events in Captain of the Port Duluth Zone: Final rule revises Captain of the Port Duluth Zone recurring safety-zone regulations so annual marine events may be enforced in the vicinity of published coordinates rather than only at fixed points, giving on-scene commanders limited geographic flexibility. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-02-23 — MTS CYBER Act of 2026: cross-connection with mts-cyber-act-maritime-cybersecurity: Maritime cybersecurity legislation intersects with Coast Guard’s regulatory authority over navigable waters and port facility security. (novelty: 3)
• 2025-12-18 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026: NDAA FY2026 (P.L. 119-60) includes Coast Guard policy authorizations for fiscal year 2026, providing the annual statutory framework within which Coast Guard regulatory actions (including navigable-waters safety zones) operate. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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