Mr. George Detweiler will provide an overview of the working group report and explain the various facets. In addition, he will provide an overview of offshore wind in the United States. He will explain the Coast Guard’s role in ensuring safety of navigation in and around wind farms; evaluating Navigation Safety Risk Assessments, Marine (spatial) planning, and supporting the Marine Transportation System.

Mr. George H. Detweiler, Jr., retired from the U. S. Coast Guard with over 20 years service. His military career included two tours afloat and a tour as commanding officer of a LORAN station in Italy. He returned to the Coast Guard as a civilian marine transportation specialist in the Marine Transportation Systems Directorate at USCG Headquarters. He is a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Maritime Organization’s Subcommittee on Navigation, Communication and Search and Rescue. His major projects have included conducting the Right Whale and Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Studies, creating ships’ routing measures including the first Russian Federation – United States joint proposal on routing measures in the Bering Sea and Strait, conducting tribal consultations, and reviewing offshore renewable energy installations (OREIs) proposals.

Mr. Detweiler works closely with the Coast Guard’s National Navigation Safety Advisory Council (NNAVSAC) on safety of navigation issues, including COLREGS and the Inland Navigation Rules and the development of Best Practices for Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS). Mr. Detweiler has been a panelist at many alternative energy and UMS workshops.