Channel Islands and the Santa Barbara Channel
An increasing number of freight ships are navigating around California’s traditional shipping lanes in an apparent attempt to avoid using cleaner fuels within 24 nautical miles of the state’s coastline, according to recent studies of ship traffic.
To avoid the 24-mile boundary, ships could simply set their compass around the south side of the Channel Islands before steering into port.
The only problem with this approach, as noted in a CARB study, is that course sent them directly into a U.S. Navy training area known as the Pt. Mugu Sea Range, where naval exercises – sometimes involving missile tests – are frequent.