A No Anchoring Area or NAA is a ships&rquo; routing measure comprising an area within defined limits where anchoring is hazardous or could result in unacceptable damage to the marine environment. Anchoring in a no anchoring area should be avoided by all ships or certain classes of ships, except in case of immediate danger to the ship or the persons onboard. General Provisions on Ships' Routing (GPSR) para 2.1.14. In general, NAA should be established only in areas where anchoring is hazardous, or where there is a possibility that unacceptable to the marine environment could result. The IMO instruments providing for the establishment of NAA are the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, Chapter V, regulation 10 and the General Provisions on Ships' Routeing. Proposals to establish a NAA under the auspices of IMO must be submitted to the Subcommittee on Safety of Navigation (NAV), which usually meets in July each year, approved by NAV and then adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee which generally meets every eight months.

Additional reference information: 

• National System MPA Definitions and Criteria
• Marine Protected Areas of the United States
• General Provisions on Ships' Routing offsite link