Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations (SOR/2012-69)

Marginal note:Emergency plan

• 27 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), every oil tanker of 150 gross tonnage or more, and every other vessel of 400 gross tonnage or more that carries oil as cargo or as fuel, must keep on board a shipboard oil pollution emergency plan that meets the requirements of regulation 37 of Annex I to MARPOL.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) A vessel that does not have mechanical means of propulsion and that is fitted with internal combustion engines having a total output of less than 400 kW does not require a shipboard oil pollution emergency plan unless it is carrying 10 tonnes or more of oil

  • (a) in bulk; or

  • (b) in tanks, if one or more of the tanks has a capacity greater than 450 L.

• Marginal note:Subsection 57(1)

  (3) If subsection 57(1) applies, the shipboard oil pollution emergency plan may be combined with the shipboard marine pollution emergency plan for noxious liquid substances, in which case the title of the plan must be the “shipboard marine pollution emergency plan”.

• Marginal note:Damage stability and residual structural strength calculation

  (4) An oil tanker of 5 000 tonnes deadweight or more must have prompt access to computerized, shore-based damage stability and residual structural strength calculation programs.

Marginal note:STS operations Plan

• 27.1 (1) Every oil tanker of 150 gross tonnage or more that is not alongside a wharf or quay and that is engaged with another oil tanker in a transfer operation involving oil or an oily mixture in bulk must keep on board an STS operations Plan that meets the requirements of regulation 41 of Annex I to MARPOL. In the case of a Canadian vessel, the STS operations Plan must be written in English or French or in both, according to the needs of the crew.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of

  • (a) transfer operations associated with fixed or floating platforms, including

    • (i) drilling rigs,

    • (ii) floating production, storage and off-loading facilities used for the offshore production and storage of oil, and

    • (iii) floating storage units used for the offshore storage of produced oil;

  • (b) bunkering operations; or

  • (c) transfer operations necessary for the purpose of saving lives or securing the safety of a vessel, or for combatting specific pollution incidents in order to minimize the damage from pollution.

SUBDIVISION 4Discharges of Oil and Oily Mixtures

Marginal note:Application

28 This Subdivision does not apply in respect of vessels in a shipping safety control zone or Canadian vessels in an area in respect of which subsection 7(1) applies.

Marginal note:Prohibition

29 A Canadian vessel in waters that are not waters under Canadian jurisdiction, and a person on such a vessel, must not discharge oil or an oily mixture except in accordance with section 31 or in the circumstances set out in section 5 that apply in respect of the discharge.

Marginal note:Authorized discharge — Section I waters

• 30 (1) For the purposes of section 187 of the Act, an oily mixture may be discharged from a vessel in Section I waters if

  • (a) the vessel is en route;

  • (b) none of the oily mixture

    • (i) originates in cargo pump room bilges, or

    • (ii) is mixed with oil cargo residues;

  • (c) the discharge is processed through oil filtering equipment that

    • (i) meets the requirements of regulation 14 of Annex I to MARPOL,

    • (ii) produces an undiluted effluent that has an oil content of not more than 15 ppm, and

    • (iii) triggers an alarm and a discharge-stopping device as soon as the oil content in the effluent exceeds

      • (A) 5 ppm, if the oily mixture is discharged in the inland waters of Canada, or

      • (B) 15 ppm, if the oily mixture is discharged in Section I waters that do not include the inland waters of Canada; and

  • (d) the discharge does not contain chemicals or any other substances introduced for the purpose of circumventing the detection of concentrations of oil that exceed the oil content limits specified in subparagraph (c)(iii).

• Marginal note:Alarms

  (2) The alarm required for the purposes of clause (1)(c)(iii)(A) must meet the requirements of section 13 and the alarm required for the purposes of clause (1)(c)(iii)(B) must meet the requirements of regulation 14 of Annex I to MARPOL.

Marginal note:Authorized discharge — Section II waters and seaward

• 31 (1) For the purposes of section 187 of the Act and section 29, an oily mixture may be discharged from a vessel in Section II waters or a Canadian vessel in waters that are not waters under Canadian jurisdiction if

  • (a) the vessel is en route;

  • (b) in the case of an oil tanker, none of the oily mixture

    • (i) originates in cargo pump room bilges, or

    • (ii) is mixed with oil cargo residues;

  • (c) the discharge is processed through oil filtering equipment that

    • (i) meets the requirements of regulation 14 of Annex I to MARPOL, and

    • (ii) produces an undiluted effluent that has an oil content of not more than 15 ppm; and

  • (d) the discharge does not contain chemicals or any other substances introduced for the purpose of circumventing the detection of concentrations of oil that exceed the oil content limit specified in subparagraph (c)(ii).

• Marginal note:Authorized discharge from cargo spaces

  (2) For the purposes of section 187 of the Act and section 29, an oily mixture from cargo spaces may be discharged from a vessel in Section II waters or a Canadian vessel in waters that are not waters under Canadian jurisdiction if

  • (a) the vessel is en route;

  • (b) the vessel is more than 50 nautical miles from the nearest land;

  • (c) the instantaneous rate of discharge of the oil that is in the oily mixture does not exceed 30 L per nautical mile;

  • (d) the total quantity of oil discharged does not exceed

    • (i) 1/15,000 of the cargo of which the oily mixture forms part, in the case of a vessel that was put into service on or before December 31, 1979,

    • (ii) 1/30,000 of the cargo of which the oily mixture forms part, in the case of a vessel that is put into service after December 31, 1979, or

    • (iii) despite subparagraph (i), 1/30,000 of the cargo of which the oily mixture forms part, in the case of a Canadian vessel whose registration is transferred to the Register after February 15, 1993; and

  • (e) the oil discharge monitoring and control system is in operation and can stop the discharge of

    • (i) any effluent having an oil discharge rate greater than that allowed under paragraph (c), or

    • (ii) any oil in a quantity greater than that allowed under paragraph (d).

SUBDIVISION 5Transfer Operations

Marginal note:Application

• 32 (1) This Subdivision applies in respect of vessels only when they are in waters under Canadian jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (2) Sections 33 and 37 and paragraphs 38(1)(b) to (d) and (f) to (j) do not apply in respect of oil tankers of less than 150 gross tonnage or other vessels of less than 400 gross tonnage.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (3) Sections 33, 34 and 37 and paragraphs 38(1)(b) to (d) and (g) to (i) do not apply in respect of an oil tanker without a master or crew and from which oil is being unloaded if the tanker is not attended by a vessel with a master or crew and the tanker is in a location that makes it infeasible to meet the requirements of those provisions.

• Marginal note:Application in waters that are not Canadian waters

  (4) Despite subsection (1),

  • (a) paragraph 38(1)(l) also applies in respect of Canadian vessels in waters other than waters under Canadian jurisdiction; and

  • (b) section 39.1 also applies in respect of Canadian vessels in the territorial sea or the exclusive economic zone of a foreign state that is a party to MARPOL.

Marginal note:Communications

33 If a vessel or a handling facility engages in a transfer operation, the vessel’s master and the operator of the facility must, before and during the transfer operation, have the means for two-way voice communication on a continuing basis that enables the supervisor on board the vessel and the supervisor at the facility or on board the other vessel

• (a) to communicate immediately as the need arises; and

• (b) to direct the immediate shutdown of the transfer operation in case of an emergency.

Marginal note:Lighting

• 34 (1) If a vessel or a handling facility engages in a transfer operation between sunset and sunrise, the vessel’s master and the operator of the facility must ensure that illumination is provided that has

  • (a) a lighting intensity of not less than 54 lx at each transfer connection point of the vessel or facility; and

  • (b) a lighting intensity of not less than 11 lx at each transfer operation work area around each transfer connection point of the vessel or facility.

• Marginal note:Measurement

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), lighting intensity is to be measured on a horizontal plane 1 m above the walking surface of the facility or the working deck of the vessel, as applicable.

Marginal note:Transfer conduits

• 35 (1) A person must not use a transfer conduit in a transfer operation unless the conduit

  • (a) has a bursting pressure of not less than four times its maximum design pressure;

  • (b) is clearly marked with its maximum design pressure; and

  • (c) has successfully passed, during the year before its use, a hydrostatic test to a pressure equal to one and one-half times its maximum design pressure.

• Marginal note:Test certificates

  (2) If a transfer conduit used in a transfer operation is part of a vessel’s equipment, the vessel’s master must keep on board the test certificate for the hydrostatic test.

• Marginal note:Manufacturer’s specifications

  (3) The owner of a transfer conduit that is used in a transfer operation must ensure that the conduit is used, maintained, tested and replaced in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

• Marginal note:Leaks

  (4) If a transfer conduit or a connection leaks during a transfer operation, the supervisor on board the vessel and the supervisor at the handling facility or on board the other vessel must, as soon as feasible, slow down or stop the operation to remove the pressure from the conduit or connection.

Marginal note:Reception facility — standard discharge connections

36 The owner of a reception facility that receives oily residues from a vessel’s machinery space bilges or sludge oil tanks must equip the reception facility with a piping system that, at its vessel side end, is fitted with a standard discharge connection that meets the requirements of regulation 13 of Annex I to MARPOL.

Marginal note:Overall advisory control of transfers between oil tankers

• 36.1 (1) The authorized representative of an oil tanker of 150 gross tonnage or more must ensure that a transfer operation to which section 27.1 applies is under the overall advisory control of a person who meets the qualifications set out in section 6.2.1.2 of the Manual on Oil Pollution, Section I – Prevention, published by the IMO.

• Marginal note:Duties

  (2) The person must carry out the duties set out in section 6.2.1.3 of the Manual.

Marginal note:Requirements for transfer operations — vessels

37 The authorized representative of a vessel that engages in a transfer operation must ensure that it is supervised on board the vessel by a person who is required to be part of the complement of the vessel

• (a) in the case of a Canadian vessel, by paragraph 207(3)(a), (b) or (c) or subparagraph 207(3)(d)(i) of the Marine Personnel Regulations; and

• (b) in the case of a foreign vessel, by paragraph 241(a), subparagraph 241(b)(ii) or (iii) or paragraph 241(d) of the Marine Personnel Regulations.

Marginal note:Duties of supervisors of transfer operations — vessels

• 38 (1) The supervisor of a transfer operation on board a vessel must ensure that

  • (a) the vessel is secured, having regard to the weather and the tidal and current conditions, and the mooring lines are tended so that the movement of the vessel does not damage the transfer conduit or its connections;

  • (b) transfer procedures are established with the concurrence of the supervisor of the transfer operation at the handling facility or on board the other vessel, as the case may be, with respect to

    • (i) the rates of flow and pressures for the transferred liquid,

    • (ii) the reduction of rates of flow and pressures, where required to avoid an overflow of the tanks,

    • (iii) the time required to stop the transfer operation under normal conditions,

    • (iv) the time required to shut down the transfer operation under emergency conditions, and

    • (v) the communication signals for the transfer operation, including

      • (A) stand by to start transfer,

      • (B) start transfer,

      • (C) slow down transfer,

      • (D) stand by to stop transfer,

      • (E) stop transfer,

      • (F) emergency stop of transfer, and

      • (G) emergency shutdown of transfer;

  • (c) the supervisor of the transfer operation at the handling facility or on board the other vessel, as the case may be, has reported readiness for the commencement of the transfer operation;

  • (d) the person who is on duty on board the vessel in respect of the transfer operation is fully conversant with the communication signals, maintains watch over the vessel’s tanks to ensure that they do not overflow, and maintains continuous communication with that person’s counterpart at the handling facility or on board the other vessel, as the case may be;

  • (e) the manifold valves and tank valves on the vessel are not closed until the relevant pumps are stopped, if the closing of the valves would cause dangerous over-pressurization of the pumping system;

  • (f) the rate of flow is reduced when the tanks are being topped off;

  • (g) the supervisor of the transfer operation at the handling facility or on board the other vessel, as the case may be, is given sufficient notice of the stopping of the transfer operation to permit them to take the necessary action to reduce the rate of flow or pressure in a safe and efficient manner;

  • (h) the following measures are taken to prevent the discharge of oil:

    • (i) all cargo and bunker manifold connections that are not being used in the transfer operation are securely closed and fitted with blank flanges or other equivalent means of closure,

    • (ii) all overboard discharge valves are securely closed and marked to indicate that they are not to be opened during the transfer operation, and

    • (iii) all scuppers are plugged;

  • (i) a supply of peat moss or other absorbent material is readily available near every transfer conduit to facilitate the cleanup of any minor spillage of oil that may occur on the vessel or on the shore;

  • (j) all transfer conduits that are used in the transfer operation are supported to prevent the conduits and their connections from being subjected to any strain that might cause damage to them or cause the conduits to become disconnected;

  • (k) all reasonable precautions are taken to avoid the discharge of oil; and

  • (l) the vessel’s STS operations Plan is implemented, if the vessel is of 150 gross tonnage or more and section 27.1 applies to the transfer operation.

• Marginal note:Duties of supervisors of transfer operations — facilities

  (2) The supervisor of a transfer operation at a handling facility must ensure that

  • (a) the supervisor of the transfer operation on board the vessel has reported readiness for the transfer operation to begin;

  • (b) continuous communication is maintained with the supervisor on board the vessel; and

  • (c) the manifold valves and the tank valves at the handling facility are not closed until the relevant pumps are stopped, if the closing of the valves would cause dangerous over-pressurization of the pumping system.