Don't blame this one on DOGE — it's been in the works for a while — but WTF?
/
“morons”
Coast Guard proposes removing navigation buoys from Maine waters — the entire east coast, in fact
The U.S. Coast Guard has proposed to remove navigation aids from up and down the East Coast, including more than 100 in Maine waters.
A notice issued on April 15 listing the locations of buoys that would be discontinued, includes more than 40 in Penobscot Bay and a dozen from around Mount Desert Island.
The buoys targeted for removal mark harbor entrances, ledges, and other routes and hazards. Some are lighted, while others have gongs, bells or whistles, according to detailed descriptions in the notice.
According to the Coast Guard, most, if not all would be removed to modernize a constellation of navigation aids “whose designs mostly predate global navigation satellite systems, electronic navigation charts, and electronic charting systems.”
The intention, the Coast Guard says, is to “support the navigational needs of the 21st century prudent mariner … Deliver effective, economical service — manage vessel transit risk to acceptable levels at acceptable cost.”
Admittedly, (most) everyone’s happy to see government spending slashed, until their own ox shows up on the chopping block, but ensuring the safety of and making possible coastal navigation has been one of the federal government’s responsibilities since the founding of the nation*, and that need still exists, especially for recreational vessels, many of which, like my own small sailboats and runabouts in the past, lack electronic navigation equipment, but even commercial vessels can have electronic failures, and the ubiquitous cell phones “everyone” carries can fail. In short, this is not a Peruvian transgender dance group.
Furthermore, it’s not all that difficult to imagine a cyberattack or an EMP, natural or deliberate, disabling the entire electronic navigation system. In that event, good luck entering a harbor or navigating shoals in fog or on a dark and stormy night.
For some reason, this bit of idiocy is being reported on mostly in Maine, but it will affect boaters from Florida to the Canadian border (and the Great Lakes are bound to be next).
The Coast Guard is accepting public comment until June 13.
Interested Mariners are strongly encouraged to comment on this in writing, either personally or through their organization. All comments will be carefully considered and are requested prior to 13 June 2025 to complete the process. To most effectively consider your feedback and improve the data collection, when responding to this proposal, please include size and type of vessel, recreational or commercial, and distance from aid that you start looking for it, and if and how you use the signal. Please do not call the Coast Guard via telephone or other means, only written responses to this proposal will be accepted. Refer to Project No. 01-25-015. E-mail can be sent to: D01-SMBDPWPublicComments@uscg.mil .
Seems like something that local yacht clubs might want to bring to the attention of their members, and act on.
The Lighthouse Act of 1789, also known as "An Act for the Establishment and Support of Light-Houses, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Piers," was a significant piece of early federal legislation. It established the federal government's authority over lighthouses and other navigational aids, shifting responsibility from individual states. This act was the first federal public works program, and it was passed early in the new nation's history, even before Congress established salaries for itself.
