in any port or place under the jurisdiction of the United States, in the navigable waters of the United States, or in any area covered by an international agreement negotiated pursuant to section 70005, may construct, operate, maintain, improve, or expand vessel traffic services, that consist of measures for controlling or supervising vessel traffic or for protecting navigation and the marine environment and that may include one or more of reporting and operating requirements, surveillance and communications systems, routing systems, and fairways;

shall require appropriate vessels that operate in an area of a vessel traffic service to utilize or comply with that service;

may require vessels to install and use specified navigation equipment, communications equipment, electronic relative motion analyzer equipment, or any electronic or other device necessary to comply with a vessel traffic service or that is necessary in the interests of vessel safety, except that the Secretary shall not require fishing vessels under 300 gross tons as measured under section 14502, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104, or recreational vessels 65 feet or less to possess or use the equipment or devices required by this subsection solely under the authority of this chapter;

may require the receipt of prearrival messages from any vessel, destined for a port or place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, in sufficient time to permit advance vessel traffic planning before port entry, which shall include any information that is not already a matter of record and that the Secretary determines necessary for the control of the vessel and the safety of the port or the marine environment; and

may prohibit the use on vessels of electronic or other devices that interfere with communication and navigation equipment, except that such authority shall not apply to electronic or other devices certified to transmit in the maritime services by the Federal Communications Commission and used within the frequency bands 157.1875–157.4375 MHz and 161.7875–162.0375 MHz.

In this section, the Secretary may provide for such local variances as the Secretary considers appropriate to account for the unique vessel traffic, waterway characteristics, and any additional factors that are appropriate to enhance navigational safety in any area where vessel traffic services are provided.

The Captain of the Port covered by a vessel traffic service center may develop and submit to the Secretary regional policies in addition to the national policy established and updated under subsection (b) to account for variances from that national policy with respect to local vessel traffic conditions and volume, geography, water body characteristics, waterway usage, and any additional factors that the Captain considers appropriate.

The Secretary shall maintain a central depository for all local variances approved under this section.

The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with public or private agencies, authorities, associations, institutions, corporations, organizations, or other persons to carry out the functions under subsection (a)(1).

With respect to vessel traffic service areas that cross international boundaries, the Secretary may enter into bilateral or cooperative agreements with international partners to jointly carry out the functions under subsection (a)(1) and to jointly manage such areas to collect, share, assess, and analyze information in the possession or control of the international partner.

The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall de-identify information prior to release to the public, including near miss incidents.

The Secretary shall develop and implement a standard method for evaluating the performance of vessel traffic service centers.

The Secretary shall develop a continuous risk assessment program to evaluate and mitigate safety risks for each vessel traffic service area to improve safety and reduce the risks of oil and hazardous material discharge in navigable waters.

The Secretary, in coordination with stakeholders and the public, shall develop a standard method for conducting risk assessments under paragraph (1) that includes the collection and management of all information necessary to identify and analyze potential hazardous navigational trends within a vessel traffic service area.

The Secretary shall conduct research, in consultation with subject matter experts identified by the Secretary, to develop more effective procedures for monitoring vessel communications on radio frequencies to identify and address unsafe situations in a vessel traffic service area. The Secretary shall consider data collected under subparagraph (A) of subsection (f)(3).

The National Navigation Safety Advisory Committee shall advise and provide recommendations to the Secretary on matters relating to the practicability, economic costs, regulatory burden, and navigational impact of outfitting vessels lacking independent means of propulsion that carry flammable, combustible, or hazardous liquid cargo with vessel automatic identification systems.

Based on the evaluation under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as the Secretary considers appropriate to establish requirements relating to the outfitting of vessels described in such subparagraph with vessel automatic identification systems.

In conducting the periodic reviews under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek input from port and waterway stakeholders to identify areas of increased vessel conflicts or marine casualties that could benefit from the use of routing measures or vessel traffic service special areas to improve safety, port security, and environmental protection.

The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall de-identify information prior to release to the public, including near miss incidents.

Any pilot, acting in the course and scope of his or her duties while at a Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service Center, who provides information, advice, or communication assistance while under the supervision of a Coast Guard officer, member, or employee shall not be liable for damages caused by or related to such assistance unless the acts or omissions of such pilot constitute gross negligence or willful misconduct.

An entity operating a non-Federal vessel traffic information service or advisory service pursuant to a duly executed written agreement with the Coast Guard, and any pilot acting on behalf of such entity, is not liable for damages caused by or related to information, advice, or communication assistance provided by such entity or pilot while so operating or acting unless the acts or omissions of such entity or pilot constitute gross negligence or willful misconduct.

The term “hazardous liquid cargo” has the meaning given that term in regulations prescribed under section 5103 of title 49.

The term “marine casualty” has the meaning given that term in regulations prescribed under section 6101(a).

The term “vessel traffic service area” means an area specified in subpart C of part 161 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.

The term “vessel traffic service center” means a center for the provision of vessel traffic services in a vessel traffic service area.

The term “near miss incident” means any occurrence or series of occurrences having the same origin, involving one or more vessels, facilities, or any combination thereof, resulting in the substantial threat of a marine casualty.

The term “de-identified” means the process by which all information that is likely to establish the identity of the specific persons or entities noted in the reports, data, or other information is removed from the reports, data, or other information.