The U.S. Navy will be conducting a training exercise this week in Guam, detonating underwater explosives at Apra Outer Harbor and Piti, the Pacific Island Times reports.
The exercise will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 27 and 28. Areas “within a 700-yard radius above and below the surface” around the detonations April 27 and within a “1,400-yard radius above and below the surface” around the detonations April 28 will be dangerous, the U.S. Coast Guard warned in an announcement posted on the Federal Register.
The Navy’s Naval Weapons Engineering Course syllabus states that underwater detonations can create shock waves that are like detonations in the air but with shorter duration and a “proportionally larger peak over-pressure” due to the elastic properties of water.
The Coast Guard reportedly received notice of the operation only 49 days prior to the exercise date. The short notice did not allow the Coast Guard to provide time for a comment period. However, those businesses whose vessels may be affected by the detonations are encouraged to send comments to the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards.
The Coast Guard has reassured they will not “retaliate against small entities that question or complain about this rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard,” according to the announcement.
Naval training exercises to be conducted at Apra Outer Harbor and Piti in Guam
