As a courtesy to our audience, Maritime Commons will provide a daily compilation of nationally-relevant Federal Register Notices, or those notices that may impact a large segment of our readers. To provide comments for the public record, follow the Federal Register link for each individual notice. Please note, the Coast Guard cannot respond to comments on these notices outside of the Federal Register.

The Coast Guard announced in the Federal Register that in accordance with the statutory provisions enacted by the Great Lakes Pilotage Act of 1960, the Coast Guard is proposing new base pilotage rates for the 2022 shipping season.

This proposed rule would adjust the pilotage rates to account for changes in district operating expenses, an increase in the number of pilots, and anticipated inflation. In addition, this proposed rule would make a policy change to always round up in the staffing model. The Coast Guard is also proposing methodology changes to factor in an apprentice pilot’s compensation benchmark for the estimated number of apprentice pilots with a limited registration. The Coast Guard estimates that this proposed rule would result in a 12-percent increase in pilotage operating costs compared to the 2021 season.

Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before October 14, 2021.

You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-2021-0431 using the Federal Decision Making Portal at https://www.regulations.gov.

For information about this document, call or email Mr. Brian Rogers, Commandant (CG-WWM-2), Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1535, email Brian.Rogers@uscg.mil, or fax 202-372-1914.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official publications, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These publications remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.