Inland Rules and Local Law: The Wake That Capsized a Boat, and Why Federal Rules Do Not Cancel Local Ones

What Happened

The Coast Guard investigated a casualty in which a recreational vessel was swamped and capsized by the wake of a commercial towing vessel. It found that the towing vessel’s credentialed master, and the company operating it, both believed that a USCG-inspected vessel was governed only by the federal Inland Navigation Rules, and that those rules overrode state and local navigation laws, including local no-wake rules.

Where The Belief Came From

A 2014 amendment to 33 CFR 83.01(a) said the Inland Rules had preemptive effect over state or local regulation ‘within the same field’. That wording read like field preemption: federal law covering a whole subject and leaving no room for local rules. The Coast Guard later called it an error and removed the language on 6 September 2022 (Federal Register, volume 87, page 54385). The correct position is conflict preemption.

What Conflict Preemption Means

• States and local authorities keep concurrent jurisdiction to make and enforce localised safety rules, such as those for geographic hazards or narrow channels. These apply to all vessels, including USCG-inspected commercial vessels with credentialed crews.
• A local rule is preempted only when it is physically impossible to obey both it and the federal rule.
• Where there is a direct conflict, mariners follow the Inland Rules.
• Only a federal court can make a binding preemption decision. Neither the Coast Guard nor local governments can.
• A mariner who breaks an applicable local ordinance may face Suspension and Revocation proceedings against their Merchant Mariner Credential.

What The Coast Guard Asks

1. Do not assume federal preemption applies automatically.
2. Research the state and local navigation laws, wake restrictions and speed limits along every route, and use Harbor Safety Committees where they help.
3. Raise awareness of conflict preemption with port stakeholders, including through Harbor Safety Committee discussions and case studies.
4. Build local-law requirements into the Safety Management System, with policies, procedures and training for credentialed mariners.
5. Comply with both the Inland Rules and local safety rules, following the Inland Rules in a direct conflict.
6. If a local law directly conflicts with the federal rules or creates an unsafe condition, contact the local USCG District Prevention Office promptly for official guidance.

Why It Matters Outside The US

The same trap exists wherever national, regional and port rules overlap: UK harbour byelaws sit alongside the COLREGs, and local speed limits sit alongside both. An officer who learns the international rules thoroughly and never looks at the local layer has built a gap into their own passage plan. A wake is a navigation hazard for the person it reaches, not only a regulatory matter for the person making it.

Test Your Knowledge

Think you've got this covered? Put it to the test in Crew Connect's free Knowledge Checker — try a quick COLREGs round and see how you score.

Related Reading

• Week 42 2026 regulatory roundup
• Pilot transfer arrangements: SOLAS V/23 and 2028