MM1 Comment Submitted by Malon Dawsey

Comment on Proposed rulemaking Anchorages; Port of New York [Docket Number USCG–2026–0042] As a Merchant Mariner that works for a company that transits the Hudson River with tug and barge units, I’d like to comment on this proposed rulemaking. The text for this rulemaking [Docket Number USCG–2026–0042] includes several regulatory actions that will have significant impacts to navigation safety, environment protection, supply chains, national security as well as economic impacts. The outcomes of this action will not achieve the purpose of this rulemaking putting the marine environment of the Hudson River at risk. Without defined Anchorage Grounds, and the uncertainty of the location of underwater High-Voltage Cables, puts commercial operators at peril when anchoring on the Hudson River to mitigate risk while navigating in various conditions including restricted visibility and poor weather. The actual outcome of this rulemaking will provide foreign power companies open access to install more high-voltage cables, restrict recreational and commercial vessels to anchor only in Special Anchorage Areas, and eventually shut down the Hudson River Green Highway forcing millions of trucks a month to deliver cargo on the interstate highway system. Please consider the many negative impacts of this rule making and the ineffectiveness of this regulation in achieving its stated purpose. This rule making puts our national environment, economy, and quality of life at severe risk. We urge that decisions impacting our Maritime Transportation System be decided by experts in navigation based on facts and not on hysterics. Anchorages are needed in the Hudson River for the safe transit of marine traffic.