Load Line Regulations (SOR/2007-99)

Application

• 3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part applies in respect of Canadian vessels everywhere and foreign vessels in Canadian waters.

• (2) This Part does not apply in respect of

  • (a) pleasure craft;

  • (b) vessels ordinarily engaged in catching, attempting to catch or harvesting fish, whales, seals, walrus or other living resources of the sea;

  • (c) high-speed craft that have been certified in accordance with the HSC Code and meet the requirements of that Code;

  • (d) new vessels of less than 24 m in length;

  • (e) existing vessels of less than 150 gross tonnage;

  • (f) vessels that are engaged on

    • (i) a voyage solely within the limits of the inland waters of Canada or an inland voyage and holding a certificate issued under Part 2 or similar load line regulations made under the laws of the United States,

    • (ii) a sheltered waters voyage, or

    • (iii) a domestic voyage, if the vessels are not carrying passengers or cargo;

  • (g) Canadian vessels or vessels registered in the United States that are engaged on an international voyage wholly within the West Coast Treaty Zone;

  • (h) new vessels that do not have means of self-propulsion that

    • (i) are engaged on a domestic voyage wholly within the West Coast Treaty Zone and are not carrying oil as cargo or passengers, or

    • (ii) are engaged on a domestic voyage outside the West Coast Treaty Zone and are not carrying oil as cargo, passengers or crew; or

  • (i) existing vessels that do not have means of self-propulsion, are engaged on a domestic voyage and are not carrying passengers or crew.

Prohibitions

• 4 (1) No Canadian vessel shall depart on a domestic voyage unless it

  • (a) holds an International Load Line Certificate, a Local Load Line Certificate or an International Load Line Exemption Certificate issued under section 5; and

  • (b) is marked in accordance with the certificate.

• (2) No Canadian vessel shall depart on an international voyage unless it

  • (a) holds an International Load Line Certificate or an International Load Line Exemption Certificate issued under section 5; and

  • (b) is marked in accordance with the certificate.

• (3) No foreign vessel shall depart from a place in Canada unless it

  • (a) holds an International Load Line Certificate or an International Load Line Exemption Certificate issued by the government of the state whose flag the vessel is entitled to fly or, at the request of that government, by another government; and

  • (b) is marked in accordance with the certificate.

Certificates

• 5 (1) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is a new vessel and was constructed before the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

  • (a) the conditions of assignment set out in Chapter II of Annex I to the 1966 Convention are met;

  • (b) the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

  • (c) the vessel has been assigned freeboards that

    • (i) are determined in accordance with Chapter III of Annex I to the 1966 Convention, or

    • (ii) if the freeboards determined under subparagraph (i) are not adequate because of the general structural strength of the vessel, are adequate for the general structural strength of the vessel; and

  • (d) the vessel is marked in accordance with Chapter I of Annex I to the 1966 Convention.

• (2) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is a new vessel and was constructed on or after the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

  • (a) the conditions of assignment set out in Chapter II of Annex I to the Convention are met;

  • (b) the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

  • (c) the vessel has been assigned freeboards that

    • (i) are determined in accordance with Chapter III of Annex I to the Convention, or

    • (ii) if the freeboards determined under subparagraph (i) are not adequate because of the general structural strength of the vessel, are adequate for the general structural strength of the vessel; and

  • (d) the vessel is marked in accordance with Chapter I of Annex I to the Convention.

• (3) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is an existing vessel, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

  • (a) the conditions of assignment set out in Part I of Schedule I to the Rules are met;

  • (b) the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

  • (c) the vessel has been assigned freeboards determined in accordance with

    • (i) in the case of a vessel other than a sailing vessel or tanker, Part II of Schedule I to the Rules and, if the vessel is carrying timber deck cargo, Part IV of that Schedule,

    • (ii) in the case of a sailing vessel, Part III of Schedule I to the Rules, or

    • (iii) in the case of a tanker, Part V of Schedule I to the Rules; and

  • (d) the vessel is marked in accordance with Part VI of Schedule I to the Rules.

• (4) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is a new vessel, the Minister shall issue a Local Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

  • (a) the intended operation of the vessel provides an equivalent or greater level of safety than one or more of the requirements set out in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be; and

  • (b) the other requirements set out in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, are met.

• (4.1) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is an existing vessel, the Minister shall issue a Local Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

  • (a) the intended operation of the vessel provides an equivalent or greater level of safety than one or more of the requirements set out in subsection (3); and

  • (b) the other requirements set out in subsection (3) are met.

• (5) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Exemption Certificate to the vessel if it has been granted an exemption by the Board under section 13 and

  • (a) subject to the terms of that exemption, the requirements of subsection (1), (2) or (3), as the case may be, are met; and

  • (b) any design-, contruction- or equipment-related safety requirements set by the Board under that section are met.

• (6) A Local Load Line Certificate that is issued to an open-hopper dredge shall include a dredging load line if

  • (a) it has been assigned a dredging freeboard that is 62.5 per cent of the assigned summer freeboard or 150 mm, whichever is greater; and

  • (b) it is marked with the dredging load line placed directly below the deck line so that its upper edge marks the assigned dredging freeboard and the letters “WD” are marked forward of this line.

• (7) Despite paragraphs (1)(d), (2)(d) and (3)(d), the Minister may issue a certificate if

  • (a) the marking is placed so that the freeboards are greater than those required by paragraph (1)(d), (2)(d) or (3)(d), as the case may be; or

  • (b) in the case of a passenger vessel, it is marked in accordance with paragraph 22(2)(c) of the Hull Construction Regulations.

• (8) Despite paragraph (6)(b), the Minister may issue a certificate that includes a dredging load line if the dredging load line is placed so that the dredging freeboard is greater than that required by that paragraph.