skip to content
The Boring PartsFederalLocal · USLocal · Canada
The Boring Parts

This Week at the U.S. Coast Guard — week of May 4, 2026

/ 7 min read

View more blogs with the tag agency-roundup, View more blogs with the tag weekly-roundup, View more blogs with the tag coast-guard
Table of Contents

The Coast Guard published 36 actions this week, most of them routine safety measures: temporary no-entry zones around fireworks displays, races, and air shows; a few construction-site restrictions that will last for years; and several administrative updates that change no current rules. Below is a plain-English summary of what actually happened, grouped by theme.

Fireworks Displays

  • The Coast Guard proposed corrected coordinates for a fireworks safety zone in Henderson Harbor, New York, because the regulation lists the wrong barge location for the annual Christmas in July event. The fix is administrative and affects a small area for a few hours.
  • A temporary safety zone was set for the Keweenaw Waterway near Hancock, Michigan, on June 13, 2026, from 10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., to keep boats clear of a fireworks launch.
  • A proposed rule would close a 200-yard radius around a fireworks barge on Rainy Lake near Ranier, Minnesota, for three hours on the evening of August 8, 2026.
  • The Coast Guard activated an existing seasonal safety zone in Chicago Harbor for the Navy Pier Summer Series fireworks. It applies only during the scheduled displays and does not change navigation rules outside those hours.
  • A safety zone near Luna Pier, Michigan, on Lake Erie will be enforced June 27, 2026, from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., keeping boats out of the fireworks viewing area.
  • Pre-existing safety zones were activated around four July 4 fireworks displays in Wisconsin and Minnesota, each enforced from 9:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
  • A safety zone in Superior Bay, Wisconsin, will be enforced for the Superior July 4 fireworks from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
  • A temporary zone was established on the Upper Potomac River in Washington, DC, covering waters within 500 feet of a fireworks barge at The Wharf.
  • A temporary zone on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal will keep boats out of a 200-foot radius around a fireworks barge on June 13, 2026, from 8:45 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.
  • Two separate safety zones were set on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon: one for Rose Festival fireworks on May 22 and May 30, covering a 450-yard radius from 8:50 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and a broader security zone between the Hawthorne and Steel Bridges from noon June 2 through noon June 8, requiring boaters to reroute around the downtown river section.

Races and Sporting Events

  • A proposed rule would restrict boat traffic on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, between mile markers 599 and 604 on October 10, 2026, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a rowing race.
  • A proposed safety zone on the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio, would cover the stretch from the Robert Craig Memorial Bridge to the Glass City River Wall for the Paddle and Groove event, which runs between June and October.
  • A temporary restriction on Lake Erie will support the Toledo Yacht Club’s overnight race from 5 p.m. June 5 through 10 a.m. June 6, 2026.
  • The Coast Guard proposed a recurring safety zone for the annual IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio race in Sandusky Bay, which would add the event to the regulated marine events list.
  • A proposed rule would create a safety zone for the Invitational Mills Trophy Race, an overnight sailboat race in the Detroit area, applying only to waters immediately around the racing boats.
  • A proposed safety zone around the Mackinac Bridge would cover waters within 100 yards of the center span from 7 a.m. to noon on July 18, 2026, for a swim event. Vessels could request permission to enter.
  • A proposed rule would create a temporary restricted area on the Neuse and Trent Rivers near New Bern, North Carolina, for a recurring June raft race, blocking entry to the race course for six hours on race day.
  • A temporary closure on Maryland’s Bush River and Otter Point Creek will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 16 and 17, 2026, for a high-speed hydroplane race. It covers the water from shoreline to shoreline between a coordinate line and the Amtrak Railroad Bridge.
  • A proposed rule would restrict traffic in Narragansett Bay’s East Passage for the Newport to Bermuda Race on June 19, 2026. The Coast Guard would issue a separate enforcement notice closer to the event.
  • A temporary safety zone for the Key West Paddle Classic on May 9, 2026, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., moves with the race: 50 yards ahead of the lead safety boat, 50 yards behind the last one, and 100 yards to either side of the paddlers.

Air Shows and Large Maritime Events

  • A temporary safety zone around Fort Lauderdale Beach will be enforced daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., May 8 through May 10, 2026, for the Fort Lauderdale Air Show.
  • A safety zone in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor will be active June 24 through July 1, 2026, for SAIL250, Fleet Week, and Air Show Baltimore. The zone is enforced only while aircraft are flying; normal boat traffic resumes between demonstrations.
  • A related rule on the Patapsco River and Inner Harbor gives commercial and recreational boaters advance notice of the same June 24–July 1 enforcement window and establishes a point of contact for vessels that need to transit.

Construction and Infrastructure

  • A regulated navigation area on the Raritan River in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, coordinates boat traffic around the replacement of a railroad swing bridge with a vertical lift bridge. It runs from April 15, 2026, through June 30, 2030.
  • A no-entry zone in the Hudson River near Pier 66 in Manhattan covers the water from surface to riverbed within a set of coordinates. It is in effect from May 1, 2026, through January 20, 2029, or until construction ends early.

Permanent and Long-Range Rules

  • The Coast Guard finalized permanent safety zones for rocket launches at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach, Texas, replacing temporary rules with a standing framework for the recurring launch activity.
  • The Coast Guard reopened the comment period on a proposed rule to establish designated shipping fairways along the Atlantic Coast from New York to Florida, plus traffic separation schemes, precautionary areas, and one anchorage point. These are planning tools to keep commercial routes clear of future fixed structures like wind farms; vessels are not required to use them.
  • A finalized safety zone west of Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, covers waters within 400 yards of the shoreline between two yellow buoys and the runway end, to prevent accidents between low-flying aircraft and boats.

Administrative and Record-Keeping Actions

  • The Coast Guard published a list of temporary water restrictions enforced between July and September 2024 that were not printed in the Federal Register when they took effect. These rules are already expired and create no new compliance requirements.
  • A similar quarterly list covers temporary safety and security zones enforced between April and June 2024. It is a legal reporting requirement and does not create new rules.
  • A third list catalogs temporary restrictions from October through December 2024, covering locations from the Great Lakes to California, Texas, and Florida. The rules are already in the past.
  • The Coast Guard reorganized how safety zone listings are structured in its regulations to separate the Detroit and Toledo maritime jurisdictions, making the rules easier to read and cite.

One-Off Events

  • A temporary safety zone on the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey, will keep boats out of waters within 800 feet of the Battleship New Jersey on May 7, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (rain date May 11), because a clay shoot will send bird shot into the area.
  • A restricted zone on Lake Erie will be in effect May 9, 2026, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for the transit of the USS Cleveland, to prevent collisions between the naval ship and civilian vessels.

Proposed Rules With Year-Round Recurrence

  • The Coast Guard proposed updates to Columbia River event safety zones, adjusting dates, moving locations, and removing one event that has not been held in years. The changes align regulations with what event organizers actually do.

This weekly agency digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.

Related actions