Fisheries Committee on March 29th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Good morning, everyone.

I now call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 13 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted on January 20, 2022, the committee is commencing its study of marine cargo container spills.

The committee will use the last 15 minutes of today's meeting to discuss in camera the drafting instructions on the study of traceability of fish and seafood products.

This meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021.

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I would now like to welcome our witnesses for today's first panel.

We have, from the Canadian Coast Guard, Chris Henderson, deputy commissioner of operations; and Jonathan Brickett, regional director, incident management, western region. From the Department of Transport, we have Martin McKay, executive director, legislative, regulatory and international affairs, marine safety and security; Naim Nazha, executive director, navigation safety and environmental programs, marine safety and security; Désirée Sauvé, acting director general, oceans protection plan; and François Marier, director, international marine policy.

I want to welcome Madam Gaudreau, who is replacing Madam Desbiens today, and I believe Mr. Paul-Hus is replacing Mr. Zimmer. It's good to have you with us.

We will now begin with opening remarks from Mr. Henderson for five minutes or less, please.

When you're ready, Mr. Henderson, the floor is your for five minutes or less, please.

[Chris Henderson, Deputy Commissioner, Operations, Canadian Coast Guard]

Good morning, Mr. Chair.

Committee members, thank you very much for the opportunity to participate in your study on marine cargo container spills this morning.

To open, I would like to provide a brief overview of the current state of play related to marine cargo loss in Canada, touching in particular on the recent case of the Zim Kingston.

As you know, global marine shipping trends continue to evolve. We're seeing much larger ships carrying enormous volumes of diverse cargo, everything from everyday household items and food products to petroleum and other fuels. For example, in May 2021, the largest container ship ever to call on North America's east coast berthed in the port of Halifax; the Marco Polo is capable of holding over 16,000 shipping containers.

These vessels and their cargo are critical to the global supply chains on which we depend for the necessities of everyday life and are essential to continuing to grow the Canadian economy. However, the transiting of these large vessels and their cargo across oceans and in and out of Canadian waters is not without risk. Accidents happen, and cargo can be lost.

We experienced this first-hand last October when the Zim Kingston lost 109 containers overboard off the coast of Vancouver Island as a result of an extreme weather event. As a result of significant investments made by the government through the oceans protection plan since 2017, the Coast Guard was well-positioned to respond quickly and effectively to this incident.

For example, the Planning for Integrated Environmental Response initiative developed area response plans that were instrumental in quickly notifying indigenous and coastal communities, as well as other response partners, of the incident.

In addition, the implementation of a 24/7 posture for Coast Guard's Regional Operations Centres and the National Command Centre played a critical role in coordinating our operational response throughout the incident.

Lastly, investments in drift protection and near‑shore modelling enabled Coast Guard to track the trajectory of lost cargo containers and predict locations where containers and their contents could come ashore.

These are just a few of the oceans protection plan investments that have yielded substantial benefit in improving marine safety and protecting the marine environment, and have paid significant dividends in responding to the Zim Kingston, whose lost containers remain top of mind for the Coast Guard.

Under the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, another initiative of the oceans protection plan, the cleanup of lost cargo is the responsibility of the vessel owner. The Coast Guard's responsibility is to ensure that the owner takes the appropriate measures to address the lost cargo.

Following the Zim Kingston's container spill, the Coast Guard monitored and supported beach clean‑up operations, and we continue to hold the vessel owner accountable. At the Coast Guard's request, the vessel owner conducted a sonar scan of Constance Bank Anchorage. Planning is under way for a second scan in the Cape Flattery area.

Additionally, the Coast Guard has requested the vessel owner conduct an environmental risk assessment to determine the possible impacts the lost containers may have on the marine environment. We continue to keep partners and stakeholders engaged and up‑to‑date.

The Zim Kingston incident was a complex response operation that highlighted the many challenges of marine container spills. We are proud of the fast, effective, collaborative and sustained response effort put forward by our Coast Guard crews and very many response partners at multiple levels to successfully and safely resolve this complex incident.

We learned an awful lot from the incident of the Zim Kingston, and we will continue to draw lessons for years to come.

Thank you very much, Chair. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you for that. That was dead on your five minutes.

We'll now go to Mr. McKay from the Department of Transport for five minutes or less, please.

[Martin McKay, Executive Director, Legislative, Regulatory and International Affairs, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport]

Good morning, Mr. Chair and committee members.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your study on marine cargo container spills.

I would like to begin by providing a brief overview of the international and domestic legal framework governing the safe carriage of marine cargo containers in Canada.

Through the International Maritime Organization, Canada is party to several international conventions related to the carriage and handling of marine cargo containers, which are adopted into Canadian law under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, the Safe Containers Convention Act, and their respective regulations.

These set out a rigorous safety framework governing how containers are transported around the world on ships. For example, shipowners must ensure that containers are regularly tested and maintained in good condition, and the vessel master and crew must ensure that the containers are safely secured on board.

When dangerous goods are carried inside containers, further international codes apply to ensure that they are marked and stowed safely. Canada also requires ships to provide documentation of container contents, including dangerous goods, before entering Canadian waters so that we know what's inside and where it's located. However, accidents can happen, as we saw with the Zim Kingston.

You heard from my colleague, Mr. Henderson, who explained how the Canadian Coast Guard led the response to the spill. Transport Canada also plays an important role to ensure that the vessel is structurally sound, to direct the vessel to safe anchorage or berth and to inspect the vessel for compliance and enforcement actions.

Transport Canada also establishes the liability and compensation regime for ship‑source incidents, including for container spills, fires and pollution. Under the Marine Liability Act and the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, shipowners are liable for pollution from their ships and for lost cargo and containers.

In addition, Canada is leading international efforts to establish a global liability and compensation regime for damage from hazardous and noxious substances to contribute to adequate global compensation for victims of pollution damage.

Through the oceans protection plan, significant progress has been made in strengthening the prevention of and response to accidents and incidents involving marine container ships. We are continuing to improve the marine safety system to mitigate risks and impacts to indigenous peoples, coastal communities and the marine environment.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge the seriousness of the Zim Kingston incident as well as the importance of what we continue to learn from these events. Canada has in place a strong safety and liability regime, which helped to make the incident response a success.

Thank you. I look forward to taking your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you. That was a minute under time, so I'm sure we'll use that somewhere along the way.

We'll now go to questions by members.

We'll go to Mr. Arnold first for six minutes or less, please.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to both witnesses for appearing today.

The Zim Kingston incident certainly raised questions for people on the west coast of British Columbia. Part of the oceans protection plan announced in 2016 was improved weather forecasting.

Could you tell us why the Zim Kingston ended up in such severe weather conditions and how that impacted the incident?

I believe this question would be for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, through the Coast Guard.

[Chris Henderson]

Mr. Chair, I won't be able to answer the entire question because part of it is outside the purview of the Coast Guard.

The increase in weather [Technical difficulty—Editor] of Environment and Climate Change Canada, but I will try to address the question about how the Zim Kingston ended up in the teeth of a gale, so to speak.

The ship was bound for Vancouver and happened to find itself approaching the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca at a point when there was significant weather affecting the west coast: high winds, high seas. Again, it's somewhat outside the purview of the Coast Guard to explain why this happens or what can be done about it, but the ship was not able to.... The master chose to stay outside of the Strait of Juan de Fuca because they weren't ready to proceed down the shipping lanes to the port, and the ship found itself, therefore—

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

It sounds like the improved weather forecasting that was supposed to be part of the oceans protection plan failed to prevent this incident. Would that be correct?

[Chris Henderson]

Well, sir, it is a fact that the master of the ship is the person who makes the decision about whether the ship will proceed, regardless of the weather, and increased weather forecasting wouldn't preclude the master from making a decision to proceed on his voyage.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Okay, thank you. I'll move on to the next important piece that I found here.

There were 109 containers that went overboard. Only four have been found. That leaves 105 containers unaccounted for. There were hazardous, toxic materials in those containers. How many of those containers that have not been recovered contained hazardous materials?

[Chris Henderson]

Two. There were four containers that went over that were in the cargo of the Zim Kingston that had dangerous goods on them. They were chemicals properly packaged and marked. Two of them went overboard when the ship was off Vancouver Island, and the other two remained on board the ship.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

I understand that those hazardous goods pose a health threat to fish or aquatic species. What is the department doing to recover these hazardous goods so that they do not impact the aquatic species?

[Chris Henderson]

There are a couple of things on this one.

First, there is a risk of environmental impact. That is certainly the case. The information that we have been given by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the science on the chemicals, is that they will dissolve and be bioremediated very quickly in salt water. To the extent there is pollution resulting from those two sea containers opening up at depth, that will be limited to the surrounding area and then quickly mitigated by bioremediation and by dissolving in the salt water.

That said, we're not ignoring that risk. It is the shipowner's responsibility to deal with it, and we are working closely with the shipowner. They have agreed, as I mentioned in my opening comments, that they are going to conduct a sonar survey off Cape Flattery in the vicinity of the area where the sea containers were lost. Depending on what they are able to find, we'll take action, depending on the information that we're able to accumulate from that. It is—

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

I see that in all, 57 tonnes of potassium amyl xanthate, used in mines and pulp mills, and thiourea dioxide, used in manufacturing textiles, were aboard the four containers, two that fell overboard and two that caused fire on board.

Presumably, approximately half of that 57 tonnes still remains in waters off the west coast.

[Chris Henderson]

Mathematically, about 50% of the [Technical difficulty—Editor] accounted for. Whether or not they're still in the sea containers remains to be seen, but as I said, the science tells us that these chemicals, while they are dangerous goods, they also dissolve rapidly in water, and the harmful environmental effects are mitigated and diminish rapidly once they are dissolved.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you.

I believe my time is up.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

We'll now go to Mr. Hardie for six minutes or less, please.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here.

Commissioner Henderson, back in 2016, this committee studied, with great concern, the closure of the Comox marine traffic centre. We were concerned about outages in the system, as well as the shortage of staff to basically keep the one in the Victoria area operating properly.

Were there any outages or issues in the Victoria centre while this episode with the Zim Kingston was under way?

[Chris Henderson]

There were not, as far as I am aware. I will ask Jonathan Brickett if he is aware of any MCTS outages. My understanding is that the answer is no, but he is much closer to the coalface in Victoria.

[Jonathan Brickett, Regional Director, Incident Management, Western Region, Canadian Coast Guard]

Thank you, sir.

No, at the time, we were staffed appropriately and all the notifications were making it through to the various duty officers.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Sir, we had been tracking outages and staff difficulties at the Victoria area centre, and it was noted at the time that it was mainly third party systems that were failing. Have those been fixed or replaced?

We can go to Commissioner Henderson.

[Chris Henderson]

I'm sorry, sir. I'm not familiar with the outages to which you refer.

I'd be happy to get some specific information about that, and we can research an answer for you.

My understanding is that the marine communications and traffic services system and its technology were working as designed and properly, with adequate staffing at the time. I don't believe MCTS issues played any part in the Zim Kingston event.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you very much.

Mr. McKay, are there international rules in place for what actually can be put into a container? For instance, if I have spent nuclear fuel rods, can I ship those by container from one country to the next over the ocean?

That is for Mr. McKay from Transport.

[Martin McKay]

To answer your question, yes, there are international conventions and regulations that specifically address the safety framework around container traffic and shipping. Some [Technical difficulty—Editor] International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, the International Convention for Safe Containers, and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.

It's that last code that would really speak to what can and cannot be safely transported on board a container.

All of these conventions are taken and implemented through domestic regulations through the Canada shipping—

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I have an additional question. We can check into that offline, though, and I appreciate that.

Are there rules for stacking the containers? It would appear that the ones on the top are the most likely to go overboard. Would it not make sense to have rules that say that the least likely to contaminate or pollute should be the most at risk?