Vessel Certificates and Inspection Regulations

Regulatory Reform Project
CMAC – Spring 2012

PDF Format

Table of Contents

• Objectives
• Rationale for Amendments
• Proposed VCIR Regulatory Project
• Proposed VCIR Regulatory Project (cont'd)
• Background - HSSC
• Background – HSSC (cont'd)
• Proposed Amendments
• Proposed Amendments - Examples
• Proposed Amendments (cont'd)
• Proposed Amendments (cont'd)
• Overview
• Overview (cont'd)
• Benefits of this Regulatory Project
• Sheltered Waters
• Next Steps
• Questions?

Objectives

• Promote meaningful dialogue
• Increase awareness and understanding of:
  • Issues within the Marine Safety regulatory regime
  • The Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC)
  • Benefits of the proposed regulatory project
  • Voyage classification schedules – sheltered waters
• Receive feedback on the proposed framework

Rationale for Amendments

• Certain regulations contain requirements directed at Inspectors
• Certain regulations contain references to periodicity of inspections and certificates
• Periodicity of certificates and inspection intervals is not harmonized
• Inspection and certification requirements are diffuse and unclear
• Definition of inspection is unclear
• Unclear and inconsistent inspection terminology

Proposed VCIR Regulatory Project

Objectives:

• Clarify the intent of regulations
• Clarify certificate requirements
• Clarify inspection requirements
• Harmonize the periodicity of Canadian certificates and intervals between inspections with international standards
• Harmonize language used to describe inspections

Proposed VCIR Regulatory Project (cont'd)

• To meet these objectives, this regulatory project will include:
  • Amendments to the Vessel Certificates Regulations;
  • Consequential amendments to other regulations;
  • The implementation of the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) in Canada; and
  • The development of the Canadian Vessel Inspection Standard based on the HSSC Survey Guidelines

Background - HSSC

HSSC adopted by IMO to harmonize the periodicity of international certificates and intervals between inspections

• Periodicity of certificates harmonized to 5 years (Validity of Passenger Ship Safety Certificate is currently 1 year)
• Intervals between various inspections harmonized to one year
• Added flexibility to accommodate operational constraints:
  • extending certificates up to 3 months
  • annual, intermediate and periodic surveys may be conducted within 3 months of anniversary date

Background – HSSC (cont'd)

• HSSC accompanied by Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification, 2007 as amended from time to time
• The Survey Guidelines facilitate the implementation of the IMO instruments that fall under the HSSC
  • Provide harmonized definitions for 7 types of surveys
  • Outline the inspection requirements for each certificate
  • Identify items that are to be inspected
  • Refer to the instruments containing standards to which the item must be inspected

Proposed Amendments

Remove provisions from other regulations that relate to the inspection of vessels for the purpose of certification and place them in the Canadian Vessel Inspection Standard

• This includes provisions specifying what and how to inspect, provisions directed at the Marine Safety Inspector and references to periodicity of certificates and inspections

Proposed Amendments - Examples

Regulatory Reference	Regulatory Provision	Issue	Action
Large Fishing Vessel Regulations – Subsection 12(3)(a)	An inspector shall satisfy himself by actual examination, and by a series of calculations when required, that (a) the working pressure assigned to boilers (…) subject to inspection can be safely carried (…)	The inspection is the requirement instead of the requirement being to have suitable piping and machinery to carry the working pressure for the equipment it serves.	Change wording in regulation to: The owner of a vessel shall ensure that (a) the working pressure assigned to boilers (…) can be safely carried (…)
Large Fishing Vessel Regulations – Subsection 30(1)	Life saving, fire extinguishing and navigating equipment shall be inspected at the following intervals: (a) annually, in the case of fishing vessels of more than 150 tons, gross tonnage	Specifies the intervals between inspections	This provision would be moved to the Canadian Vessel Inspection Standard and the intervals would be harmonized with the standard set by the HSSC.
Large Fishing Vessel Regulations – Subsection 41(3)	(…) an inspector may issue or extend an inspection certificate for a period not exceeding (a) two months beyond the due date of periodic inspection;	Specifies the periodicity of a certificate	This provision would be removed from the regulation and placed in the Canadian Vessel Inspection Standard.

Proposed Amendments (cont'd)

Benefits:

• The intent of regulations will be clearly discernible – regulatory requirements will be directed at vessel owners/operators rather than MSI
• More flexibility in the method used to conduct inspections to keep up with international technology and standards
• More flexibility in setting the periodicity of certificates and inspections to maintain harmony with international standards
• More clarity for vessel owners/operators regarding the inspection and certification process – all information regarding what inspections are conducted for which certificates, what is verified during each inspection and at what intervals will be consolidated into one document that will be accessible to the public

Proposed Amendments (cont'd)

• Apply the HSSC in Canada to harmonize the periodicity of certificates and inspections to 5 years (except for the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate)

Benefit:

• All certificates and inspections will effectively come due at the same time so a vessel will only have to come into shore once to obtain all certificates and/or inspections.
• Harmonize, consolidate and clarify terminology used for inspection types

Benefit:

• More clarity for vessel owners/operators regarding the inspection and certification process

Overview

The Vessel Certificates and Inspection Regulations are to identify:

• Each certificate required by regulation;
• The class of vessels to which the certificate applies (e.g. fishing vessels, cargo vessels, etc.);
• The regulations with which each certificate confirms compliance; and
• The types of inspections (initial, periodic, intermediate, etc.) that apply to each certificate.

	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Item	Certificate	Class of vessel to which the certificate is applicable	Requirements with which the certificate confirms compliance	Inspections relevant to the particular certificate
A1	International Load Line Certificate	All vessel types excluding fishing vessels, pleasure craft, and highspeed craft	Load Line Regulations	Initial Annual Renewal

Overview (cont'd)

The Canadian Vessel Inspection Standard will list the:

• Required types of inspections (initial, periodic, intermediate, etc.) for each certificate;
• The periodicity of certificates and inspection intervals; and
• Verifiable items for each certificate and under which inspection they are verified.

Annex 2: Canadian Guidelines for Inspection for a Load Line Certificate or Load Line Exemption Certificate	Initial Inspection	Annual Inspection	Renewal Inspection
For the load line certificate the inspection during construction and after installation should consist of:	Initial
witnessing the inclining experiment or lightweight survey	YES
examining the scuppers, inlets and discharges	YES	YES	YES

Benefits of this Regulatory Project

• Adds flexibility to the inspection and certification process
• Facilitates identification of:
  • certificates required by vessels
  • what is to be inspected for a particular certificate
  • intervals between inspections
  • applicable regulatory requirements
• Certificates effectively come due at the same time (fewer inspections to obtain/maintain all necessary certificates)
• Facilitates the development and improvement of programs under which persons and organizations are recognized to conduct inspection and certification functions on behalf of Transport Canada by providing them with clear guidelines and standards

Sheltered Waters

A sheltered waters voyage is defined as follows: “sheltered waters voyage” means a voyage

• That is in Canada on a lake, or a river above tidal waters, where a vessel can never be further than one nautical mile from the closest shore;
• That is on the waters listed in column 1 of an item of Schedule 1 during the period specified in column 2 of that item; or
• That is made by a ferry between two or more points listed in column 1 of an item of Schedule 2 during the period specified in column 2 of that item.

A number of proposals have been received from regional Marine Safety offices to add to or amend existing sheltered waters in the voyage classification schedules. The proposals are outlined in the discussion paper.

Next Steps

• In the fall of 2012, Marine Safety will consult with industry stakeholders through regional and national CMAC
• Marine Safety welcomes industry to participate and to provide comments and feedback as it consults on the proposed Vessel Certificates and Inspection Regulations and the Canadian Vessel Inspection Standard
• In fall 2012, Marine Safety will begin developing drafting instructions for the regulations

Questions?

Contact:
Caitlin O’Boyle
Policy Officer
Marine Safety
caitlin.oboyle@tc.gc.ca

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