Coast Guard Weighs In On CAT Security Zone

Regulations have potential to put hitch in town's marina plans

BAR HARBOR—Last month, during its meeting to discuss the potential marina on the town-owned site of the CAT ferry on Route 3 (121 Eden Street), members of Bar Harbor’s Harbor Committee learned that there could potentially be issues in the plan.

Those issues stemmed from a security zone around the CAT ferry and were brought up by Bar Harbor resident Dessa Dancy.

Harbor Committee members didn’t have immediate answers about whether a security zone of about 100 yards around the international ferry would prevent many of the options of the draft ferry plan created by Daniel Bannon of GEI, a firm the town contracted with to create a marina master plan.

Now, there are some answers.

According to MST2 Douglas C. Reynolds of the United States Coast Guard, the current regulations regarding the CAT fall under the Code of Federal Regulations for "passenger vessels over 100 gross tons authorized to carry more than 500 passengers."

Because of that weight and the number of passengers, the CAT falls specifically under section 33CFR165.105.

“This section mentions both a ‘100-yard radius’ along with an area ‘extending 200 yards ahead, and 100 yards aside and astern of any passenger vessel that is underway,’” Reynolds said.

That section also describes “both the distances prescribed by law as well as who and what they pertain to,” Reynolds said. 

“In this instance, the section pertains to the CAT both as it is anchored, moored, or in the process of being moored along with when it is underway,” Reynolds said. “As far as distances are concerned, it does vary slightly depending on whether the vessel is underway or is anchored, mooring or moored.”  

While the vessel is underway, this section is enforced on "all navigable waters, within the Portland, Maine, Captain of the Port Zone, extending from the surface to the sea floor, extending 200 yards ahead, and 100 yards aside and astern of any passenger vessel that is underway."

Or it can also be, Reynolds said, "all navigable waters within the Portland, Maine, Captain of the Port Zone, extending from the surface to the sea floor, within a 100-yard radius of any passenger vessel that is anchored, moored, or in the process of mooring."

As far as which vessels this applies to, it not only applies to all vessels but also any persons or object that might enter the zone via swimming or other manners as well, Reynolds said, citing subsection (c) regulation (1) of the CFR cites 33CFR165.33, which goes into depth about what actions are not allowed within a security zone while active.

“These sections entail times when the vessel is both moving and when it was not,” Reynolds said.

When asked specifically about if the town builds a marina on the portion of the ferry terminal site, would that security zone mean that the marina could not be used when the CAT is docked and moving within 100 yards of it, Reynolds said that higher level Coast Guard officials are still reviewing this point and he’d respond when he had more clarity.

If that security zone is enforced, the marina and almost all of its proposed facilities would be difficult to use because it would exist within 100 yards of the CAT.

According to Acting Chief Executive Officer of Northumberland Ferries/Bay Ferries Mark Wilson, the lease between the town and Bay Ferries has been renewed for 2024.

GEI said that a representative would be back at the December meeting with updates from the last meeting, which would be the company’s final deliverable to the town. Many federal grant deadlines are December 31, so voting on the plan at the committee’s January meeting would be past those grant deadlines.

In June 2021, voters approved a $3.5 million to purchase the site from the Maine Department of Transportation. The town had previously spent approximately $95,000 on a business plan and study about the site. That was a contract with Bermello and Ajamil (B&A) consultant Michael Vanderbeek.

The plan had 14 options that required funding via bonds. At the time, costs for those possibilities ranged between $11 million and $16 million. Most of those original plans did not have any annual profits. Those that did involved cruise ships, wharfing fees, paid parking. More recently, the estimated cost to build a marina has hovered around $14 million.

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LINKS TO LEARN MORE

For more about the marina plan and our original story, including the plan (attached as a pdf) and more images click here.

For the code, click here. 

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