BOSTON — The Coast Guard will be required to take a deep dive on its controversial plan to remove hundreds of navigational buoys along the eastern coast under a proposal tucked into a congressional re-authorization bill.
A bill renewing funding for the Coast Guard, approved Tuesday by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, included an amendment sponsored by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, that requires the federal agency to conduct a “comprehensive” study of its plans amid concerns it could jeopardize safety on the waterways.
The Coast Guard’s plan, in the works for years, calls for removing 350 of the 4,700 navigational buoys located in waters from New York to the Canadian border, including dozens off Cape Ann and the North Shore. Over the next five years, up to 1,000 buoys could be removed from the water, the agency said.
But the project has raised safety concerns, especially among commercial fishermen, who’ve panned the plan as a cost-cutting move that compromises safety by removing physical navigation aids.
“I support modernizing our maritime infrastructure and embracing innovative navigation technologies,” Moulton said in a statement. “But innovation should complement, not replace, critical safety infrastructure like buoys — especially in the challenging waters that run the length of the North Shore, from Newburyport to Nahant.”
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 must pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate before landing on President Donald Trump’s desk for consideration. The bill authorizes funding for the agency through fiscal 2029 to expand its operational capabilities, modernize it procurement process, and establishes a new Secretary of the Coast Guard post.
If Moulton’s amendment survives, the Coast Guard would be prohibited from removing any buoys until the study is completed.
The project, which doesn’t require congressional approval, is meant to “rightsize” the number of buoys on the water, and will improve waterway safety “by ensuring the right short-range aids work well with modern navigation technology.”
Coast Guard officials say most commercial and recreational boats have GPS and other electronic navigation, and the new technology allows officials to rethink how many buoys need to be in the water.
“This effort will result in the most sustainable navigation risk reduction to support and complement modern mariners, and today’s much larger ships,” the Coast Guard said in a May statement announcing the plan. “Electronic Charting System availability and requirements, and powerful smartphone navigation subscription apps are affordably accessible to virtually all waterway users.”
But commercial fishing groups and harbormasters have raised concerns about reducing the number of buoys, which would mean boaters would have to rely solely on electronic navigational systems to navigate channels and avoid rocky ledges under the surface of the water.
State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr is among those who support a pause on the Coast Guard plans until a study is conducted to determine any safety risks from the project. He welcomed the amendment to the re-authorization bill.
“The potential removal of these navigational buoys poses a real and significant risk to the safety of commercial and recreational mariners, and, at the very least, no such action should be undertaken before all of its risks are fully understood,” the Gloucester Republican said in a statement. “This amendment serves that important purpose.”
The National Marine Manufacturers Association praised lawmakers for adding “commonsense” amendment “to protect critical navigational buoys and ensure the voices of boaters are heard before changes move forward.”
“Physical aids to navigation are vital for the safety of everyone on the water and this amendment ensures that modernization doesn’t come at the cost of safety,” Robyn Boerstling, the association’s chief advocacy officer and senior vice president of government relations, said in a statement.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.