Anchorage Grounds; Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, MD

The Coast Guard proposes to amend its Baltimore Harbor anchorage grounds regulation. The proposed changes would reduce the size of three general anchorages, establish one new general anchorage, rename two existing general anchorages, and change the duration a vessel may remain within an anchorage for two existing general anchorages. This proposed rule would ensure that Coast Guard regulations are consistent with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District Port of Baltimore Anchorages and Channels civil works project that widened the channel, and provide a higher degree of safety to persons, property and the environment by accurately depicting the anchorage locations. The proposed changes to the regulated uses of the anchorages would support current and future port activity related to the safety of post-Panamax commercial cargo vessels, and would remove vessel security provisions that currently exist in these Baltimore Harbor regulations. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.