Load Line Regulations (SOR/2007-99)

Exceptions

• 3.1 (1) Despite paragraphs 3(2)(f) and (g), a vessel that is constructed or converted for the purpose of towing on or after the day on which the Vessel Construction and Equipment Regulations come into force and that is engaged on a voyage beyond the limits of an inland voyage shall meet the conditions of assignment set out in Chapter II of Annex I of Annex B of Part 3 of the Convention.

• (2) Despite paragraphs 3(2)(f) to (i), a vessel that is constructed on or after the day on which the Vessel Construction and Equipment Regulations come into force, that carries at least one person and that is engaged on a voyage beyond the limits of an inland voyage shall comply with regulations 24 and 25 of Chapter II of Annex I of Annex B of Part 3 of the Convention.

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 the Vessel Construction and Equipment Regulations or paragraph 22(2)(c) of the Hull Construction Regulations, as the case may be.

• (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.

Authorized Representative’s Duties

• 6 (1) The authorized representative of a vessel that holds an International Load Line Certificate or a Local Load Line Certificate shall ensure that

  • (a) the conditions of assignment that were required to be met for the issuance of the certificate are met and the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

  • (b) the vessel is marked as it was required to be marked for the issuance of the certificate or as it may be marked under subsection 5(7) or (8);

  • (c) the certificate is endorsed as required by the Convention;

  • (d) no material alterations take place in the hull or superstructure of the vessel that would necessitate the assignment of an increased freeboard; and

  • (e) the vessel is operated only as intended, in the case of a Local Load Line Certificate.

• (2) The authorized representative of a vessel that holds an International Load Line Exemption Certificate shall ensure that

  • (a) the conditions of assignment that were required to be met for the issuance of the certificate are met and the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

  • (b) the vessel is marked as it was required to be marked for the issuance of the certificate or as it may be marked under subsection 5(7) or (8);

  • (c) the vessel complies with any safety requirements set under article 6(2) or (4) of the 1966 Convention or the Convention or under section 13, as the case may be;

  • (d) the certificate is endorsed as required by the Convention; and

  • (e) no material alterations take place in the hull or superstructure of the vessel that would necessitate the assignment of an increased freeboard.

Seasonal Zones, Areas and Periods

• 7 (1) The seasonal zones, areas and periods set out in Annex II to the Convention apply for the purpose of determining the applicable load line when a new vessel is in one of those zones or areas.

• (2) When a new vessel is engaged on a voyage set out in column 1 of the table to this subsection during a period set out in column 2, the seasonal period set out in column 3 applies for the purpose of determining the applicable load line.

  Item	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
  	Voyage	Period	Seasonal Period
  1	A voyage during the course of which the vessel crosses the eastern boundary of the St. Lawrence River Seasonal Area	(a) Period beginning on November 1 and ending on March 31	(a) Winter
  		(b) Period beginning on April 1 and ending on October 31	(b) Summer
  2	A voyage entirely within the limits of the North American Great Lakes Zone and the St. Lawrence River Seasonal Area	(a) Period beginning on November 1 and ending on March 31	(a) Winter
  		(b) Period beginning on April 1 and ending on April 30 and beginning on October 1 and ending on October 31	(b) Summer
  		(c) Period beginning on May 1 and ending on September 30	(c) Tropical

• (3) The seasonal zones, areas and periods set out in Schedule III or IV, whichever is applicable, of the Rules apply for the purpose of determining the applicable load line when an existing vessel is in one of those zones or areas.

• (4) A port standing on the boundary line between two zones or two areas is considered to be in the zone or area from which a vessel departs or into which a vessel arrives, as the case may be.

Adjustments to Load Lines

• 8 (1) When a vessel is in fresh water of a specific gravity of 1.0, the applicable load line is adjusted by the fresh water allowance that is specified in the vessel’s load line certificate and determined in accordance with the 1966 Convention, the Convention or the Rules, as the case may be. However, if the vessel is in water of a specific gravity that is greater than 1.0 but less than 1.025, the applicable load line is adjusted by the following formula:

  [(1.025 – A)/0.025] × B

  where

  A

  equals the actual specific gravity; and

  B

  equals the fresh water allowance.

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

  • (a) a new vessel that is in the North American Great Lakes Zone; or

  • (b) an existing vessel that is in the North American Great Lakes Zone during the period starting on September 16 in any year and ending on April 30 in the next year.

• (3) When a vessel departs from a place situated on a river or on inland waters to the sea, the applicable load line is raised to a level that accounts for the weight of fuel and all other materials required for consumption between the point of departure and the sea.

• (4) Subsection (3) does not apply in respect of a vessel that

  • (a) is in the North American Great Lakes Zone; or

  • (b) is in the St. Lawrence River Seasonal Area, if the vessel is engaged on a voyage wholly within the limits of the North American Great Lakes Zone and the St. Lawrence River Seasonal Area.