Safety Zone-Oil Exploration Staging Area in Goodhope Bay; Kotzebue Sound, AK

The Coast Guard proposes temporary safety zones in the Port of Goodhope Bay, Alaska, and adjacent U.S. territorial sea from 12:01 a.m. local time on July 1, 2015, through 11:59 p.m. on October 15, 2015. The temporary safety zones would encompass the navigable waters within a 25-yard radius of moored or anchored offshore exploration or support vessels, and the navigable waters within a 100-yard radius of underway offshore exploration or support vessels. The purpose of the safety zones are to protect persons and vessels during an unusually high volume of vessel traffic in the Port of Goodhope Bay, Alaska, and the adjacent territorial sea due to additional vessel traffic associated with exploratory drilling operations in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas during the summer of 2015. Lawful demonstrations are permitted outside of the temporary safety zones so long as they do not endanger the safety of vessels either moored or anchored within the port, transiting through the port, or through the adjacent waters of the territorial sea.