Coast Guard shrinks size of Marina del Rey special anchorage

MARINA DEL REY — A special anchorage area in Marina del Rey Harbor will be reduced in size and amended in shape, according to a final rule issued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The final rule ends a nearly 3-year rulemaking process, which started off as a plan to discontinue the anchorage entirely. “The Coast Guard is amending the shape and reducing the size of the special anchorage area in Marina del Rey Harbor,” Coast Guard officials stated in its Final Rule document, which was published Jan. 10 on the Federal Register website. “This action is necessary as it will create sufficient navigable water around the anchorage allowing vessels to traffic the Marina del Rey channel without undue maritime safety concerns.” Boaters will now have access to an anchorage taking up 0.11 square nautical miles – smaller than the previous anchorage, which occupied 0.48 square nautical miles. “The Coast Guard is changing the shape of the anchorage from a trapezoid to a rectangular shape and reducing the size from 0.48 to 0.11 square nautical miles. The revised anchorage will be moved to the middle of the channel across from Burton Chace Park with its northern boundary line extending from approximately the midpoint of Basin...