Coast Guard wants to adjust Port Everglades ship anchorage

Coast Guard wants to adjust Port Everglades ship anchorage After a series of vessel groundings, including confirmed incidents that damaged fragile coral reefs, the U.S. Coast Guard is formally recommending modifications to the commercial vessel anchorage area outside the entrance to Port Everglades.
   The Coast Guard Wednesday issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modify the allowed anchorage area by eliminating the section that is closest to living coral reefs, expanding the anchorage into deeper waters further away from the reefs, and limiting the time a vessel can remain in the anchorage.
   The proposed changes stem directly from recommendations made by the Port Everglades Harbor Safety Committee. After the dry bulk vessel Clipper Lasco was grounded off Fort Lauderdale in September 2006, officials started a review of commercial vessel groundings near the Port Everglades anchorage. There have been 12 groundings over the last 13 years, with five of those causing confirmed damage to the reef.
   Vessel damage to reefs in Florida has attracted national attention because an estimated 84 percent of the U.S. reef system is located along Florida's coastline.
   The Coast Guard will be accepting public comment on the proposal for 30 days. After that, the comments will be reviewed and the Coast Guard will publish a final rule on the anchorage area.
   Written comments about the proposed rulemaking are encouraged and should be sent to: U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami, 100 MacArthur Causeway, Miami Beach, FL 33139, attention: Lt. Christopher Svencer. A map of the proposed anchorage is available at www.piersystem.com/go/doc/586/177804.