Washington Waves: Waterway News From D.C.
December 12, 2025
With a solid bipartisan vote, the House easily approved a roughly $900 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026. By a roll call of 312 to 112, the compromise package in S.1071 was sent to the Senate, which is expected to provide final congressional approval to the massive measure and send it on to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.
Viewed as must-pass legislation, the package also included provisions based on the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 that came out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier this year.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the House T&I Committee, said the legislation builds on the historic investments in modernizing the Coast Guard’s assets provided through the reconciliation legislation Congress approved earlier.
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the House committee’s ranking member, also praised the bipartisan momentum, expressing hope it will continue into next year.
Also singled out were provisions in the defense bill to strengthen U.S. build requirements to better ensure a robust U.S. shipbuilding industry, improve maritime safety law and amend requirements for merchant mariner credentials to boost the pool of qualified mariners.
Lunday Nomination
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation advanced the nomination of Admiral Kevin Lunday to serve as the next commandant of the Coast Guard. By a vote of 23 to 5, the panel sent the nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
Lunday was named acting commandant in January.
The committee also voted 18 to 10 to advance the nomination of Ryan McCormack of Virginia to serve as undersecretary of Transportation for Policy and 19 to 9 to advance the nomination of Michael Graham of Virginia to serve on the National Transportation Safety Board.
New Coast Guard Cutter
The Coast Guard authenticated the keel for the future Coast Guard Cutter Pickering during a recent ceremony in Mobile, Ala.
Adm. Kevin Lunday, currently the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, attended the event along with Rep. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Michelle Kruger, president of Austal USA and more than 100 other guests.
“This event highlights the progress made towards delivering this much-needed asset to the nation,” said Rear Adm. Chad Jacoby, deputy commandant for Systems and Chief Acquisition Executive. “With OPC design and modeling activities fully complete and production underway, we are gaining speed towards recapitalization of our medium endurance fleet.”
Keel authentication is a time-honored shipbuilding tradition marking the formal start of a vessel’s construction.
Delivery of Pickering is scheduled for 2027.
The vessel was named in honor of Timothy Pickering, the second secretary of war who also fought in the American Revolution as a colonel and served as adjutant general of Gen. George Washington’s army in 1777.
New MSIB
The Coast Guard Office of Operating and Environmental Standards (CG-OES) has released a new Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) to provide guidance for owners, operators and crews of offshore supply vessels, including liftboats.
Available on the deputy commandant for operations website, the MSIB emphasizes the importance of training and orienting onboard personnel on evacuation procedures and means of escape in accordance with existing regulations.
In addition to outlining regulatory requirements, the MSIB offers recommendations for developing vessel-specific emergency procedures tailored to unique operational needs.
For additional information, contact the CG-OES at HQS-SMB-CG-OES@uscg.mil.
Training & Testing Activities
The Coast Guard recently announced its decision to conduct training and testing activities within the Hawaii-California Training and Testing (HCTT) Study Area as described in Alternative 1 of the HCTT Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Overseas EIS (OEIS).
Dated November 28, the Coast Guard’s Record of Decision (ROD) is available on the project website at www.nepa.navy.mil/hctteis. Single copies of the ROD also are available by contacting the U.S. Coast Guard, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Mail Stop 7Y17-00, Washington, DC 20593-7714 and at www.regulations.gov under Docket No. USCG-2025-0350.
Supplementary and supporting documentation, including the final Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement, can be found at www.nepa.navy.mil/hctteis.
For additional information, contact Andrew Haley at HQS-SMB-CG-47-POLICYREVIEW@uscg.mil.
San Juan Security Zone
The Coast Guard issued a final rule on revising the permanent security zone for the Coast Guard Base San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to protect the public and the base from potential subversive acts.
Effective January 5, the rule prohibits entry of vessels or persons into the security zone, which extends 200 feet seaward from the water’s edge of the Coast Guard Base San Juan, unless specifically authorized by the captain of the port, Sector San Juan.
According to the Coast Guard, the base has experienced a number of potential threat incidents, including unknown vessels mooring up to the Coast Guard piers and suspected photography surveillance by unknown individuals located near the base.
Documents can be viewed at www.regulations.gov under Docket No. USCG-2025-0366. For additional information, contact Lt. Cmdr. Rachel Thomas at 571-613-1417 or Rachel.E.Thomas@uscg.mil.
Rule Withdrawal
The Coast Guard is withdrawing a proposed rule that dates back to 2013 titled, ‘‘Assessment Framework and Organizational Restatement Regarding Preemption for Certain Regulations Issued by the Coast Guard.’’
“The Coast Guard is withdrawing the proposed rule because our practice of discussing the preemptive effect of the Coast Guard’s legal authorities and regulations in the preamble of our rulemaking documents is sufficient to identify any preemptive effects,” the service stated in the Federal Register on December 5, the date the withdrawal took effect. Docket No. USCG-2008-1259 for the withdrawal is available at www.regulations.gov. For additional information, contact Stephen Hubchen at 202-372-1198 or Stephen.K.Hubchen@uscg.mil.
