Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Charts and Nautical Publications Regulations, 1995.

Interpretation

• 2 (1) In these Regulations,

  chart

  chart means a nautical chart; (carte)

  competent authority

  competent authority means

  • (a) a government that is a party to the Safety Convention,

  • (b) a society or association for the classification and registry of ships recognized by a government referred to in paragraph (a), and

  • (c) a testing establishment recognized by the Minister or by a government referred to in paragraph (a) as able to determine whether equipment meets the standards referred to in section 9 or paragraph 10(1)(a), as the case may be; (autorité compétente)

  ECDIS

  ECDIS means an electronic chart display and information system; (SVCEI)

  ENC

  ENC means an electronic navigational chart database that

  • (a) is standardized as to content, structure and format,

  • (b) is issued for use with an ECDIS on the authority of the Canadian Hydrographic Service or a hydrographic office authorized by the government of a country other than Canada, and

  • (c) contains all the chart information necessary for safe navigation; (CEN)

  IMO

  IMO means the International Maritime Organization; (OMI)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Transport; (ministre)

  nautical mile

  nautical mile means the international nautical mile; (mille marin)

  RCDS

  RCDS means a raster chart display system; (RCDS)

  reference catalogue

  reference catalogue, in respect of an area to be navigated by a ship, means

  • (a) for waters under Canadian jurisdiction, the Catalogue of Nautical Charts and Related Publications, published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service, and

  • (b) for waters outside Canadian jurisdiction, the Catalogue of Admiralty Charts and Other Hydrographic Publications, published by the Government of the United Kingdom, or the Catalog of Charts and Publications, published by the Government of the United States of America; (catalogue de référence)

  RNC

  RNC means a raster navigational chart that is a facsimile of a paper chart issued on the authority of the Canadian Hydrographic Service or a hydrographic office authorized by the government of a country other than Canada; (RNC)

  tons

  tons means gross tons; (tonneaux)

  waters under Canadian jurisdiction

  waters under Canadian jurisdiction means

  • (a) Canadian waters, and

  • (b) the exclusive economic zone of Canada. (eaux de compétence canadienne)

• (2) A reference to a class of home-trade or inland voyage is a reference to that class as defined in the Home-Trade, Inland and Minor Waters Voyages Regulations.

• (3) For the purpose of interpreting a document incorporated by reference into these Regulations, should shall be read to mean shall.

• (4) Unless otherwise indicated in these Regulations, any reference in these Regulations to a document is a reference to the document as amended from time to time.

Application

3 These Regulations apply to Canadian ships in all waters and to all ships in waters under Canadian jurisdiction.

Exceptions

• 3.1 (1) Subsection 4(1) does not apply if the owner and the master of a ship are unable to obtain the charts, documents or publications, required by these Regulations in respect of the area in which the ship is being navigated, at any place at which the ship calls.

• (2) Subsections 5(1) and 6(1) and (2) do not apply if the person in charge of the navigation of a ship is unable to obtain the charts, documents or publications, required by these Regulations in respect of the area in which the ship is being navigated without endangering the ship, contravening applicable regulations or requiring the ship to make a substantial detour.

• (3) Section 7 does not apply if the circumstances of the voyage are such that it is impracticable to receive Notices to Mariners, Notices to Shipping or radio navigational warnings containing information with regard to the safe navigation of the ship.

Prohibition

3.2 No ship of any class shall navigate in any shipping safety control zone prescribed under subsection 11(1) of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act unless the ship complies with these Regulations.

Carriage of Charts, Documents and Publications

• 4 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the master and owner of every ship shall have on board, in respect of each area in which the ship is to be navigated, the most recent editions of the charts, documents and publications that are required to be used under sections 5 and 6.

• (2) The master and owner of a ship of less than 100 tons are not required to have on board the charts, documents and publications referred to in subsection (1) if the person in charge of navigation has sufficient knowledge of the following information, such that safe and efficient navigation in the area where the ship is to be navigated is not compromised:

  • (a) the location and character of charted

    • (i) shipping routes,

    • (ii) lights, buoys and marks, and

    • (iii) navigational hazards; and

  • (b) the prevailing navigational conditions, taking into account such factors as tides, currents, ice and weather patterns.

• (3) If a ship, other than a pleasure craft of less than 150 tons, is making a foreign voyage, a home-trade voyage, Class I, II or III, or an inland voyage, Class I, the master and the owner of the ship shall have on board and make readily available to the person in charge of the navigation of the ship an illustrated table of life-saving signals for use by ships and persons in distress when communicating with life-saving stations, maritime rescue units or aircraft engaged in search and rescue operations.

• (4) If a Canadian ship is of 150 tons or more, the master and the owner of the ship shall have on board and make readily available to the person in charge of the navigation of the ship the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual, Volume III, Mobile Facilities, published by the IMO.

Use of Charts

• 5 (1) Subject to subsection (2), in order to plan and display a ship’s route for an intended voyage and to plot and monitor positions throughout the voyage, the person in charge of the navigation of the ship shall use the most recent edition of a chart that

  • (a) is issued officially by or on the authority of

    • (i) the Canadian Hydrographic Service, when the ship is in Canadian waters, and

    • (ii) the Canadian Hydrographic Service or the government or an authorized hydrographic office or other relevant government institution of a country other than Canada, when the ship is outside Canadian waters;

  • (b) applies to the immediate area in which the ship is being navigated; and

  • (c) is, for that area,

    • (i) the largest scale chart according to the reference catalogue, or

    • (ii) of a scale that is at least 75 per cent of the scale of the chart referred to in subparagraph (i) and is as complete, accurate, intelligible and up-to-date as that chart.

• (2) The person in charge of the navigation of a ship may use the most recent edition of a chart that is the second-largest scale chart for an area according to the reference catalogue where

  • (a) the scale of the chart is at least 1:400,000 (2.16 nautical miles to the centimetre); and

  • (b) the ship is

    • (i) more than five nautical miles from any charted feature or charted depth of water that represents a potential hazard to the ship, or

    • (ii) within an area for which the largest scale chart, according to the reference catalogue, is primarily

      • (A) a chart intended for the use of pleasure craft, or

      • (B) a chart of an anchorage, a river or a harbour that the ship will not transit or enter.

• (3) The chart may be in electronic form only if

  • (a) it is displayed on an ECDIS or, in the case of failure of the ECDIS, on a back-up arrangement; and

  • (b) the ECDIS

    • (i) in waters for which an ENC is available, is operated using the ENC,

    • (ii) in waters for which an ENC is not available, is operated using an RNC,

    • (iii) when the ECDIS is operating in the RCDS mode, is used in conjunction with paper charts that meet the requirements of subsections (1) and (2), and

    • (iv) is accompanied by a back-up arrangement.

Use of Documents and Publications

• 6 (1) Subject to subsection (3), the person in charge of the navigation of a ship in waters under Canadian jurisdiction shall use, in respect of each area to be navigated by the ship, the most recent edition of

  • (a) the reference catalogue;

  • (b) the annual edition of the Notices to Mariners, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans;

  • (c) the following publications, namely,

    • (i) sailing directions, published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service,

    • (ii) tide and current tables, published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service,

    • (iii) lists of lights, buoys and fog signals, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and

    • (iv) where the ship is required to be fitted with radio equipment pursuant to any Act of Parliament or of a foreign jurisdiction, the Radio Aids to Marine Navigation, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans; and

  • (d) the documents and publications listed in the schedule.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), the person in charge of the navigation of a Canadian ship in waters outside Canadian jurisdiction shall use, in respect of each area to be navigated by the ship, the most recent edition of

  • (a) the reference catalogue;

  • (b) the annual edition of the Notices to Mariners, published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans;

  • (c) the following publications referred to in the reference catalogue, namely,

    • (i) sailing directions,

    • (ii) tide and current tables,

    • (iii) lists of lights, and

    • (iv) where the ship is required to be fitted with radio equipment pursuant to an Act of Parliament, the list of radio aids to navigation; and

  • (d) the documents and publications listed in the schedule.

• (3) The publications referred to in paragraphs (1)(c) and (2)(c) may be replaced by similar publications issued officially by or on the authority of an authorized hydrographic office or other relevant government institution of a country other than Canada, if the information contained in them that is necessary for the safe navigation of a ship in the area in which the ship is to be navigated is as complete, accurate, intelligible and up-to-date as the information contained in the publications referred to in those paragraphs.

Maintenance of Charts, Documents and Publications

7 The master of a ship shall ensure that the charts, documents and publications required by these Regulations are, before being used for navigation, correct and up-to-date, based on information that is contained in the Notices to Mariners, Notices to Shipping or radio navigational warnings.

ECDIS and Back-up Arrangements

8 The owner of every ship on which an ECDIS is fitted shall ensure that sections 9 to 13 are complied with.

ECDIS

9 Every ECDIS shall meet the performance standards set out in the annex to IMO Resolution A.817(19), Performance Standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) or other performance standards that the Minister determines provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or higher than that of those standards.

Back-up Arrangements for an ECDIS

• 10 (1) The back-up arrangement for an ECDIS shall

  • (a) consist of a separate and independent system that meets the performance standards in respect of back-up arrangements set out in the annex to IMO Resolution A.817(19), Performance Standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), or other performance standards that the Minister determines provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or higher than that of those standards;

  • (b) if the ship makes only inland voyages or minor waters voyages, consist of a separate and independent system that meets the standards for an electronic chart system intended for a Class l vessel set out in RTCM Recommended Standards for Electronic Chart Systems (ECS), version 3.0, published by the Radio Technical Commission For Maritime Services;

  • (c) until May 1, 2006, if the ship makes only inland voyages or minor waters voyages, consist of a precise navigation system that is recognized by the Canadian Coast Guard before July 1, 2002 as meeting the interim standard for precise navigation systems that is set out in the Canadian Coast Guard’s Standard for ECDIS and DGPS; or

  • (d) consist of paper charts that meet the requirements of subsections 5(1) and (2) if

    • (i) navigational conditions are such that the use of the paper charts will enable a safe takeover of the ECDIS function,

    • (ii) failure of the ECDIS will not result in a critical situation, and

    • (iii) the ship’s voyage has been planned and the position is being plotted on the paper charts at intervals that will allow a safe and immediate takeover in the event of an ECDIS failure.

• (2) The back-up arrangements referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (c) shall

  • (a) be connected to a separate and independent position-fixing system that provides continuous position information and meets the requirements of the Navigation Safety Regulations;

  • (b) be connected to the ship’s main and emergency sources of electrical power;

  • (c) be provided with an emergency source of electrical power providing uninterrupted transitional power for a period of not less than 30 minutes;

  • (d) have the chart database and voyage plan loaded before commencement of the voyage;

  • (e) operate simultaneously with the ECDIS when the ship is operating in confined waters; and

  • (f) in the case of failure of the ECDIS or when operating as required by paragraph (e), display the charts described in subsection 5(1) and

    • (i) in waters for which an ENC is available, be operated using the ENC, or

    • (ii) in waters for which an ENC is not available, be operated using an RNC.

Type-Approval

• 11 (1) The ECDIS and a back-up arrangement referred to in paragraph 10(1)(a) or (b) that are fitted on a ship shall be type-approved by a competent authority as meeting the standards referred to in section 9 or paragraph 10(1)(a) or (b), as the case may be.

• (2) The type-approval of the ECDIS and the back-up arrangement referred to in paragraph 10(1)(a) shall be in accordance with testing standard IEC 61174 of the International Electrotechnical Commission, entitled Maritime navigation and radiocommunication equipment and systems – Electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) – Operational and performance requirements, methods of testing and required test results or another testing standard that the Minister determines provides a level of safety that is equivalent to or higher than that of that standard.

• (3) Proof of the type-approval shall be carried on board the ship and be in the form of either of the following that is issued by the competent authority:

  • (a) a label that is securely affixed to the ECDIS or the back-up arrangement, as the case may be, in a readily visible location; or

  • (b) a document that is kept in a readily accessible location on the ship.

• (4) If the proof is issued in a language other than English or French, it shall be accompanied by an English or French translation.

Electrical Installation Standards

12 The ECDIS and the back-up arrangements referred to in paragraphs 10(1)(a) to (c) shall meet the applicable electrical installation standards in sections 3.10, 3.12, 3.14, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 15.6, 15.7, 15.11.2, 15.11.3, 52.1 to 52.4, 54.2 to 54.4 and 58.1 to 58.3 of Ship Electrical Standards, TP 127, published by the Department of Transport.

Quality Control

13 The ECDIS and a back-up arrangement referred to in paragraph 10(1)(a) or (b) that are fitted on a ship on or after July 1, 2002

• (a) shall have been manufactured by a manufacturer that has a quality control system in place audited by a competent authority to ensure continuous compliance with the type-approval conditions; or

• (b) before being fitted on the ship, shall have been certified as being in accordance with the type-approval by a competent authority that has used final product verification procedures.

Safe Navigation and Avoidance of Dangerous Situations

• 14 (1) The master of a ship shall ensure, before proceeding to sea, that the intended voyage has been planned using the most recent editions of the charts, documents and publications that are required to be used under sections 5 and 6 and that account has been taken of the annex to IMO Resolution A.893(21), Guidelines for Voyage Planning.

• (2) When making the plan, the master shall identify a route that

  • (a) takes into account any relevant routing systems;

  • (b) ensures sufficient sea room for the safe passage of the ship throughout the intended voyage;

  • (c) anticipates all known navigational hazards and adverse weather conditions; and

  • (d) takes into account any marine environmental protection measures that apply and avoids, as far as possible, actions and activities that could cause damage to the environment.

• 15 (1) No owner, charterer or operator of a ship, or any other person shall prevent or restrict the master of the ship from taking or executing any decision that, in the master’s professional judgment, is necessary for safe navigation and the protection of the marine environment.

• (2) This section does not apply to ships referred to in section 1.2 of Regulation 1 of Chapter V of the Safety Convention.