Naval Vessel Protection Zones: keeping clear of Navy ships

Security & safety zones · Power & sail

Every U.S. naval vessel longer than 100 feet in U.S. navigable waters is surrounded by a 500-yard protection zone. Inside it you must slow to the minimum speed for a safe course and follow the patrol's directions, and you may not come within 100 yards without permission (33 CFR 165.2015, 165.2025, 165.2030).

Where the zone applies

• The zone exists around any U.S. naval vessel over 100 feet long, at all times: underway, anchored, moored or in a floating drydock (33 CFR 165.2025(b), 165.2030(b)).
• "Naval vessel" is broad. It includes vessels the Navy owns, operates, charters or leases, new Navy ships once launched, and vessels under Navy or Combatant Command operational control, so not every one looks like a warship (33 CFR 165.2015).
• The zone does not apply while the naval vessel is moored or anchored inside an Army Corps restricted area (33 CFR part 334) or a naval defensive sea area (32 CFR part 761). Those areas have their own rules (33 CFR 165.2025(b)).
• The same rule covers all U.S. navigable waters in both the Coast Guard Atlantic Area and Pacific Area (33 CFR 165.2025(a), 165.2030(a)).

Inside 500 yards

• Operate at the minimum speed needed to keep a safe course, unless the Navigation Rules require you to keep up speed (33 CFR 165.2025(d)).
• Proceed as directed by the Coast Guard, the senior naval officer present in command, or the official patrol (33 CFR 165.2025(d)).
• The Navigation Rules still apply inside the zone. The zone rule adds to them and to any other security rules; it does not replace them (33 CFR 165.2010, 165.2025(c)).

The 100-yard line and asking permission

• No vessel or person may come within 100 yards of a large U.S. naval vessel unless the Coast Guard, the senior naval officer present in command or the official patrol authorizes it (33 CFR 165.2025(d)).
• To ask to operate within 100 yards, call the Coast Guard, the senior naval officer or the official patrol on VHF-FM channel 16 (33 CFR 165.2025(e)).
• When conditions permit, the patrol should let vessels limited by draft or maneuverability, and vessels that must use a channel past a moored or anchored naval vessel, pass closer. These allowances are discretionary, not a right (33 CFR 165.2025(f)).
• When conditions permit, the patrol should also announce large naval vessel movements in advance on channel 16, so a listening watch on 16 helps you plan (33 CFR 165.2025(f)(1)).

Who enforces it and what a violation costs

• Any Coast Guard commissioned, warrant or petty officer may enforce the zone. When the Coast Guard is absent or short-handed and action is needed at once, the senior naval officer present in command enforces it (33 CFR 165.2020).
• Violations fall under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act enforcement section: a civil penalty for each violation, and a willful and knowing violation is a class D felony (14 U.S.C. 527(c); 46 U.S.C. 70036).
• Under the federal sentencing statutes a class D felony carries up to 6 years in prison and an individual fine of up to $250,000 (18 U.S.C. 3581(b)(4); 18 U.S.C. 3571(b)(3)).

The rules: 33 CFR 165.2010 · 33 CFR 165.2015 · 33 CFR 165.2020 · 33 CFR 165.2025 · 33 CFR 165.2030 · 14 U.S.C. 527 · 46 U.S.C. 70036 · 18 U.S.C. 3581 · 18 U.S.C. 3571

A plain-language summary of federal rules for recreational boats, checked against the rules’ own text and a second source, and written in our own words. It isn’t legal advice. States add rules of their own, and rules change — the links above go to the current official text.