USCG Sea Service Routes Explained!!!

There five main types of sea service which all mean different things for which US Coast Guard Licenses you can obtain. Oceans, Near Coastal, Inland, Great Lakes and Western Rivers. Polar waters are a new type of sea service which is being recognized and only applies to STCW Endorsements at the moment. Fun fact, you can get Polar sea time at the same time as Oceans, Near Coastal or Inland but you can’t get sea time for the same day on Oceans, Near Coastal, Inland or the Great Lakes.

Definitions of Sea Service Routes

Oceans

Ocean waters is anywhere over 200 NM from land that you are sailing.

Legal Definition, 46 CFR § 10.107 — Definitions in subchapter B.:

Oceans means the waters seaward of the Boundary Lines as described in 46 CFR part 7. For the purposes of establishing sea service credit, the waters of the Inside Passage between Puget Sound and Cape Spencer, Alaska, and the inland waters of another country are not considered oceans.

Near-coastal

Near Coastal is anywhere from outside of the boundary line to 200 NM offshore. A good rule of thumb is if you left the harbor and you went past the Sea Buoy you are now in Near Coastal waters!

Legal Definition, 46 CFR § 10.107 — Definitions in subchapter B.:

Near-coastal means ocean waters not more than 200 miles offshore from the U.S. and its possessions, except for MMCs endorsed as Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel for which near-coastal is limited to waters not more than 100 miles offshore from the U.S. and its possessions. This would also include those near-coastal waters identified by another Administration when the U.S. has entered into a treaty or an agreement with that country respecting the recognition of the U.S. near-coastal endorsement.

Inland

Inland sea service is any navigable waters which is inside the Boundary Lines as described in 46 CFR part 7. We typically think of them as service on lakes, bays, sounds and rivers.

Legal Definition, 33 CFR § 2.26 — Inland Waters

Inland waters means the waters shoreward of the territorial sea baseline.

Great Lakes

For the purposes of sea service for your License if you are sailing on the Great Lakes you are getting Great Lakes time. The legal definition below is very clear and if you are sailing anywhere that meets the definition you are in the Great Lakes.

Legal Definition, 46 CFR § 10.107 — Definitions in subchapter B.:

Great Lakes, for the purpose of calculating service requirements for an endorsement, means the Great Lakes and their connecting and tributary waters, including the Calumet River as far as the Thomas J. O’Brien Lock and Controlling Works (between miles 326 and 327), the Chicago River as far as the east side of the Ashland Avenue Bridge (between miles 321 and 322), and the Saint Lawrence River as far east as the lower exit of Saint Lambert Lock. For purposes of requiring MMCs with rating endorsements, the connecting and tributary waters are not part of the Great Lakes.

Western Rivers

For the purposes of sea service for your license, if you are sailing on Western Rivers you are getting Western Rivers time. The legal definition below is very clear and if you are sailing anywhere that meets the definition you are in the Western Rivers. The great part is that it also counts as Inland waters time for your License.

Legal Definition, 46 CFR § 10.107 — Definitions in subchapter B.:

Western Rivers means -

(1) The Mississippi River;

(2) The Mississippi River’s tributaries, South Pass, and Southwest Pass, to the navigational demarcation lines dividing the high seas from harbors, rivers, and other inland waters of the United States;

(3) The Port Allen-Morgan City Alternate Route;

(4) That part of the Atchafalaya River above its junction with the Port Allen-Morgan City Alternate Route including the Old River and the Red River; and

(5) Those waters specified in 33 CFR 89.25.

(a) Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

(b) Tombigbee River.

© Black Warrior River.

(d) Alabama River.

(e) Coosa River.

(f) Mobile River above the Cochrane Bridge at St. Louis Point.

(g) Flint River.

(h) Chattahoochee River.

(i) The Apalachicola River above its confluence with the Jackson River.

Boundary Lines

If you are inside the boundary line you are Inland, outside you are typicall Near Coastal!

Legal Definition, 46 CFR Part 7 — BOUNDARY LINES:

As a rule, on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Boundary Line generally follows the high tide waterline along beaches and shores, and extended across the entrances to small bays, inlets, harbors, rivers, the ends of breakwaters or jetties, etc. In most cases, this means that as soon as an outbound vessel crosses seaward of the entrance, it has crossed outside the Boundary Line.