Transport Committee on Nov. 27th, 2014

[Sylvain Lachance]

We're proposing a three-tier approach. Tier one is with ships or companies that are pursuant to the SOLAS Convention. They are currently subject to the safety management regulations. Those are ships that will conduct international voyages.

Tier two is with vessels that are not subject to SOLAS, have more than 500 gross tonnes, and/or are certified to carry more than 50 passengers. The companies that operate them will be required to implement SMS and to have it audited and certified.

Tier three is with vessels that are more than 24 metres in length and less than 500 gross tonnes. Those companies will be required to implement SMS but will not be required to have it audited and certified. The philosophy behind this is that we want to improve safety while not causing undue harshness on companies, because those things could be very costly to undertake—if you're talking about certifying and auditing, that could also be very costly—and to make sure that we do not also put undue administrative burdens on the companies that will be subject to that.

By putting in place those measures, we strongly feel that we're meeting the intent of the Transportation Safety Board and moving the yardstick a little farther in terms of improving safety in Canada.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Thank you.

I realize that any ship that's more than 24 metres and less that 500 gross tonnes doesn't have to be certified. I understand that. But do they have to file their SMS with Transport Canada? Are there any sort of guidelines that say, “This is what your SMS must look like, and yes, you meet the requirements”?

[Sylvain Lachance]

We have created templates, checklists, and manuals for companies to help them implement SMS. Part of the scheme would be that when we inspect vessels, our inspectors could go on board and ask to see their SMS.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Thank you.

I hear a lot about double-hulled tankers and single-hulled tankers. What percentage of tankers are double-hulled and what percentage are not? Is there a requirement for the future that all tankers coming into our waters will have to be double-hulled?

[Sylvain Lachance]

That requirement exists as we speak today, sir.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Are there still single-hulled ships?

[Sylvain Lachance]

No; not coming into Canada.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Okay.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Young, you have five minutes.

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

Thank you.

Thank you so much for the excellent information.

I'm from Vancouver, so of course west coast tanker safety is extremely important to us. I'd like to ask Jeffery Hutchinson or his team what operational risks are exclusive to each shipping region, particularly the Pacific coast.

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

The risks on the B.C. coast are different, there's no doubt. I'll start by talking about one that doesn't exist. For example, you don't have ice in Port Metro to deal with, which changes the scenario significantly. I think the two factors for Vancouver that are most significant are the volume of traffic—there is a very large number of ships in and out of Port Metro and the Fraser River, as has already been alluded to—and then simply the geography itself.

I had occasion recently to stand in our marine communication centre and watch our experts helping to navigate the B.C. ferries, helping to navigate the larger ships in and out of Second Narrows and places like that. That geography is challenging, there's no question about it. The pilots are critical to the success of navigation in that area.

Those are the two that I think really stand out for the Lower Mainland. As you go up the coast, there's a volume issue for sure. The number of ships that move from Alaska to the U.S. mainland, for example, certainly creates a volume issue up the coast as well.

Mario, are there any other risks I'm missing that are specific to that region?

[Mario Pelletier]

No, I think you've covered them.

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

Just to follow up, since you're emphasizing volume, how does that volume compare with other passageways of the same size—areas like Rotterdam, etc.—where there are narrower or smaller areas?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

Pardon me, but I just want to make sure I heard you correctly. Did you say comparing to Rotterdam?

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

Yes.

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

I would be a little bit—

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

Because you are raising volume as an issue, right?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

Yes.

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

You are saying that is our biggest risk. You also alluded to the fact that obviously we have pilotage and clearly that's all working very well. So the question is, regarding the volume of traffic, given the natural passageways that are there, which are quite extensive, I believe, how does that compare to other similar places in the world?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

I don't have precise figures in front of me. I don't want to guess at this. I would rather provide you information that is more specific.

Certainly there are busier ports in the world. Shanghai comes to mind as perhaps the world's busiest port and one of the more complex because of the river system there as well. But unless Transport Canada wants to speak to—

[Sylvain Lachance]

Well, I could certainly answer, not with the precise numbers, but if we compare the traffic of tankers, for example, on the west coast and what's going on in the St. Lawrence River today in Canada, they're quite different. If we compare it with that in the rest of the world, in places such as Bosporus, the Strait of Malacca, or Rotterdam, the tanker traffic on the west coast is really small.

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

It's really small. What does that mean? That's not really a quantifiable amount.

[Sylvain Lachance]

If you are talking about the Strait of Malacca having 17,000 tankers going through, that's a lot. At Bosporus you are talking about, if my memory serves me right, maybe 1,200 tankers a month.

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

So where is Vancouver at roughly or the Pacific coast?

[Sylvain Lachance]

Port Metro Vancouver right now is at 60 a year.