[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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