Transport Canada is in the process of amending the Small Vessel Inspection Regulations in an effort to stymie the number of accidents on fishing vessels, which resulted into 16 deaths three years ago, making the commercial fishery the most dangerous occupation in Canada.
The department has three objectives in mind to achieve this end: safe operating procedures, safety equipment and stability requirements.
Safe Operating Procedures
New provisions would require all small fishing vessels to develop safe operating procedures in writing (English, French or both) according to the needs of the crew and to implement them to familiarize the persons onboard the fishing vessel with the following:
- Location and use of all safety equipment.
- All of the measures that must be taken to protect persons onboard, in particular measures to prevent persons from failing overboard; measures to retrieve persons who have fallen overboard; measures to protect limbs from rotating equipment, and measures to avoid ropes, docking lines, nets, and other fishing equipment that may pose a safety hazard to persons onboard.
- In the case of beam trawling and purse seining operations, the quick release of loads that can be activated in an emergency.
- If the vessel has a deck or deck structure, all of the measures that must be taken to maintain water tightness and weather tightness and to prevent flooding of the interior spaces of the hull or, if the vessel has no deck or deck structure, all the measures that must be taken to prevent swamping of the vessel.
- All of the measures that must be taken to ensure safe loading, stowage and unloading of fish catches, baits and consumables.
- The operation of towing and lifting equipment and the measures that must be taken to prevent overloading of the vessel.
Safety Equipment
All small fishing vessels would be subject to the updated safety equipment requirement. It would require small fishing vessels to have firefighting equipment and modernized life-saving equipment onboard.
Personal life-saving appliances would be required for all small fishing vessels according to their hull length. There would be different requirements for small fishing vessels not more than six metres, more than six metres but not more than nine metres, more than nine metres, but not more than 12 metres, more than 12 metres but not more than 15 metres and more than 15 metres.
A small fishing vessel not more than six metres in hull length would be required to carry onboard a buoyant heaving line of not less than 15 metres in length. In contrast, a small fishing vessel or more than 15 metres in length would also be required to carry onboard a buoyant heaving line of not less than 30 metres in length, have an International Convention of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) lifebuoy attached to a buoyant line of not less than 30 metres in length as well as a SOLAA lifebuoy equipped with a self-igniting light.
A small fishing vessel that engages in an unlimited voyage would be required to have two or more SOLAS life rafts or reduced capacity life rafts with a total capacity that is sufficient to carry, on each side of the vessel, the number of persons onboard; one recovery boat and an immersion suit of an appropriate size for each person onboard.
In contrast, a small fishing vessel engaged in a near coastal voyage would only be required to carry one or more SOLAS life rafts or reduced capacity life rafts with a total capacity that is sufficient to carry the number of persons onboard and an immersion suit for each person onboard.
The requirement for firefighting equipment would be based on vessel hull length.
There would be different requirements for small fishing vessels not more than six metres and for those more than 15 metres. For example, a vessel no more than six metres in hull length would be required to have a 1A:58:C portable fire extinguished and a second 1A:58:C fire extinguisher if it is equipped with a fuel-burning cooking stove, heating or refrigerating appliance.
Stability Requirements
Small new fishing vessels not more than six metres in hull length would be required to be compliant with the standards for buoyancy, flotation and stability set out in the Construction Standards for Small Vessels.
Stability assessments, full or simplified, would be required for small new fishing vessels that have a hull length of more than nine metres; small existing fishing vessels that have a hull length of more than nine metres that undergo a major modification or a change in activity that is likely to affect their stability; existing fishing vessels more than 15 gross tonnage that are used for catching herring or capelin, that were converted to herring or capelin fishing or they underwent any modifications that adversely affected their stability characteristics, fishing vessels that are fitted with an anti-roll tank.
Small fishing vessels would be required to undergo a full stability assessment if they carry fish in bulk that exhibit free surface effect, if they are fitted with an anti-roll tank. Or if they are new and are more than 18 metres in hull length.
The proposed amendments would also allow for an exemption to the vessel stability assessment requirements for populations of similar small fishing vessels. A group of authorized representatives applying for an exemption would need to demonstrate that a population of fishing vessels would not be required to undergo a stability assessment because each vessel in the population is similar to a vessel representative of the population and because the group can demonstrate that not requiring each vessel to be representative of the population would be required to undergo a full stability assessment.
Transport Canada concluded that both regulatory and non-regulatory options were considered for this regulatory proposal but to date, non-regulatory measures have not been successful in decreasing the number of fishing vessel incidents, accidents and casualties.
For example, Transport Canada published a number of safety advisory bulletins and signed memoranda of understanding regarding safety at sea with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Workmen’s Compensationboard of British Columbia.
Industry has also led education and awareness activities to promote safety onboard fishing vessels (e.g. Fish Safe BC) Fish Safe BC, for example, implements a successful fishing industry-driven program for improving safety onboard commercial fishing vessels, but these efforts have been undertaken locally and have not been implemented equally across Canada.
Transport Canada is therefore proposing amendments to the regulations governing fishing vessels to ensure its regulatory regime can adapt to technological changes, reduced the number of casualties and address the majority of the Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations.
