On 16 October it was reported by US Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda,  California that the Coast Guard had requested public comment on the draft Pacific Coast Port Access Route Study  known as PAC-PARS.

A Federal Register Notice of Availability for the draft PAC-PARS has been opened for comment. Comments and related materials must be received on or before 25 October 2022.

This is understood to be the first comprehensive evaluation of vessel traffic patterns that use Pacific coastal waters off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.

The main goal of the PAC-PARS is to evaluate historic and future waterway usage to determine navigational risk and provide recommendations to uphold safety of navigation. To do this, the study examined vessel tracking data from the past ten years and considered environmental data, existing and planned offshore development infrastructure, and historical marine incident data among other datasets.

The Coast Guard also considered concerns and recommendations from key maritime stakeholders and members of the public. Prior to this public comment period, the Coast Guard received comments during two previous public comment periods spanning over 200 days.

To quote Lieutenant Commander Sara Conrad, activities chief for Coast Guard Pacific Area Port and Facilities: ‘There has been significant growth of waterway use along the Pacific Coast; we are committed to maintaining a high level of navigational safety for all members of the maritime community. This draft study provides recommendations that facilitate safe vessel transits along the coast and connect to major port approaches in light of the increasing demand for use of our waterways.’

The draft PAC-PARS recommends establishing new voluntary fairways for coastwise and nearshore vessel traffic with connections to existing Traffic Separation Schemes and ports. These fairways would facilitate safe and predictable traffic patterns as the demand for and use of Pacific coastal waters increases. Charts of these recommended fairways can be found in Appendix I, II, and III of the study.

The public can also view the study in a more user-friendly manner at USCG Navigation Centers by website here: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/port-access-route-study-reports

The Coast Guard posted the study to a Homeport webpage here: https://cglink.uscg.mil/efedac43 where the most current information about upcoming webinars and outreach activities will be posted.

A Notice of Availability for the draft study was published on the Federal Register under docket USCG-2021-0345, and can be found by searching the docket above at www.regulations.gov

Illustration per USCG Pacific Are Public Affairs. USCG  ©.