This is a voluntary protocol that was extended for another year, and it has two components. The first component is that the port of Vancouver is actually reassigning or allocating ships to different anchorages. Before the protocol was in place, ships would just arrive and they could go to whatever anchorage they wanted. As a voluntary measure, the port of Vancouver agreed to move the ships around at some sort of an equal pacing, but there's no control for the number of ships coming or the amount of time they're waiting. It has really just spread the problem around to even more communities and has added to the impact on communities.
The other component is to ask ships to voluntarily consider local residents and to try to keep the volume down for the noise they generate and the number of lights they have on display. We're finding that ships have to run generators 24-7, because that's how they keep the oil circulating and power all their equipment, so there is actually not a lot that can be done. Some ships seem to comply more than others.
I receive copies of complaint emails from communities across the country and it seems bizarre to me the way this situation is being managed. Someone has to write to the port of Vancouver and ask them to tell this ship to turn down their lights or try to mitigate the noise, and then they have to wait for a possible answer in a voluntary system. We think it should be regulated.