John McPherson, operations manager for the Cape Cod Canal with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, briefed OSAC members on canal navigation, traffic control and monitoring systems.

McPherson described the canal as a federal navigation project whose primary purpose is the safe movement of vessels through the waterway. He reviewed dimensions and bridge constraints (current 135‑foot air‑draft clearance for highway bridges), dredging cadence, and the controller‑based marine traffic center that uses radar, environmental sensors, cameras and AIS to monitor vessels.

McPherson said controllers operate 24/7 and can dispatch patrol boats to investigate or assist vessels; they also operate a Vessel Movement Reporting System (VMRS) on behalf of the Coast Guard to ensure larger transits are coordinated. He emphasized that while the Corps monitors and communicates with vessels, it does not have authority to direct vessel movements — that authority rests with the Coast Guard.

To underscore the scale of traffic the canal supports, McPherson said the annual petroleum throughput through the project area is roughly 2,000,000,000 gallons (plus or minus), which explains the strategic need for traffic monitoring and coordination to reduce accident and spill risk.

He also described the canal’s ability to integrate AIS feeds from the Department of Transportation for broader coverage and noted patrol‑boat assets and procedures for coordinating bridge movements and large vessel transits.