[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 104 (Friday, May 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32408-32409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11619]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2020-0187]
Proposed Distribution of Scheduled Navigation Safety Messages
(Broadcast Notices to Mariners) by Mobile and Internet Methods
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will begin making broadcast notices to
mariners containing locally relevant navigation information accessible
by mobile devices and the internet. New methods of information delivery
will include Rich Site Summary also known as Really Simple Syndication
(RSS) feeds, email, and other means such as web-based graphic
interfaces. The Coast Guard believes the internet and mobile
availability will allow greater numbers of mariners to access this
information, and to do so in a more-timely, reliable, convenient, and
customized manner. Currently, the only way to obtain this information
is to tune in to local Coast Guard broadcasts that take place on very
high frequency (VHF) marine radio two or more times per day.
DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via https://www.regulations.gov on or before July 28, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2020-0187 using the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for
Comments'' portion of the supplementary information section for further
instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document,
please call or email Eugene Diotalevi, Coast Guard Navigation Center;
telephone: 703-313-5800; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Comments
We encourage you to submit comments (or related material) on this
Notice. We will consider all submissions and may adjust our final
action based on your comments. If you submit a comment, please include
the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific section of
this document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for
each suggestion or recommendation.
We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate
instructions. Documents mentioned in this notice, and all public
comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and
can be viewed by following that website's instructions. Additionally,
if you go to the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will
be notified when comments are posted, or a final rule is published.
We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted
without change to https://www.regulations.gov and will include any
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and
submissions in response to this document, see DHS's eRulemaking System
of Records notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020).
Abbreviations
BNM Broadcast notices to mariners
NAVAREA Navigational Area
NAVTEX Navigation Telex Radio
RSS Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication
VHF Very High Frequency
Discussion
The Coast Guard broadcasts scheduled navigation safety messages on
VHF marine radio. These messages, called broadcast notices to mariners
(BNMs), provide information about the status of Coast Guard aids-to-
navigation (e.g. buoys, beacons, and lights), navigational hazards,
maritime events, and other locally relevant maritime safety
information. Scheduled broadcasts normally occur every six to twelve
hours on marine VHF Channel 22A, and typically follow a brief
announcement on Channel 16 reminding listeners that a Channel 22A
broadcast is about to begin. The Coast Guard makes such broadcasts in
order to alert mariners to information that will later be consolidated
into local notices to mariners documents, which are published weekly by
each Coast Guard District. Local notices to mariners documents are
distributed at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/LNM.
The information in BNMs is primarily targeted to local situations
and conditions occurring within U.S. ports and waterways and in near-
shore, and in-shore waters. These broadcasts should not be confused
with other official navigational safety messages transmitted for the
benefit of offshore and international maritime vessel traffic through
established, internationally coordinated means, such as NAVTEX,
NAVAREA, and coastal warnings. The Coast Guard is seeking to make such
navigation safety information available to mobile device and internet
users, which is expected to offer the following advantages:
(1) Improved Information Reach. More boaters and professional
mariners for whom the navigation information is relevant will have
access to it. The overwhelming majority of current VHF broadcasts
concern events, hazards, aids-to-navigation, and other situations that
are located in areas where there is offshore mobile data coverage.
Greater numbers of mariners, especially those operating close to shore,
increasingly make use of mobile technology in lieu of, or in addition
to VHF marine radio. This will allow more people to benefit from access
to the information.
(2) Greater Convenience. The Coast Guard plans to publish the
information on an open-facing website that will allow mariners to
customize the manner of delivery. For example, mariners will be able to
receive an email for each broadcast made in a specified area; may
choose to subscribe to an RSS feed; or may choose to visit a mobile-
accessible website that displays the broadcasts that apply to a given
geographical area. The Coast Guard is also developing other ways to
access the information, including graphic interfaces, or through
downloadable chart overlays that show the locations where pertinent
marine safety information applies. Mariners will be able to access the
latest information during times that are convenient to their situation,
for example, while they are planning a voyage, or as they approach an
entrance to a port or channel.
(3) Better Timeliness. Mariners will not have to wait for the next
scheduled VHF broadcast to access critical information. They will gain
access to
[[Page 32409]]
individual navigation messages as soon as they are published.
The proposed new system of information distribution is presently
being tested in the Fifth Coast Guard District. The public is urged to
examine the following RSS feed as an illustration of this proposed new
system at: https://public.govdelivery.com/topics/USDHSCG_250/feed.rss
or to test out the graphic interface that returns customized reports of
the most up-to-date broadcast notices in the Fifth Coast Guard District
at https://navcen.uscg.gov/bnmmessages/DistrictSearchV1.php?d=5&i=4.
This proposed new system of information distribution would not impact
those other systems and procedures.
The Coast Guard is interested in the public's views about the
proposed new system of information distribution being tested in the
Fifth Coast Guard District, including ideas for how best to organize
and distribute navigation safety information to mobile device users.
The Coast Guard will consider all comments from the public. After
considering any comments received, the Coast Guard will issue a notice
in the Federal Register indicating how the matter will be resolved.
This notice is issued under the authority of 14 U.S.C. 504(a)(16)
and 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: May 26, 2020.
Michael D. Emerson,
Director, Marine Transportation Systems.
[FR Doc. 2020-11619 Filed 5-28-20; 8:45 am]
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