Arctic Shipping Safety and Pollution Prevention Regulations (SOR/2017-286)
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Regulations are current to 2024-10-30 and last amended on 2023-06-07. Previous Versions
PART 1Safety Measures (continued)
Ice Navigator
Marginal note:Ice navigator
10 (1) Vessels, other than a cargo vessel of 500 gross tonnage or more or a passenger vessel that are certified as meeting the requirements of Chapter I of SOLAS, that navigate in a shipping safety control zone set out in columns 2 to 17 of Schedule 1 during a period other than those set out in item 14 of that schedule must have an ice navigator on board.
Marginal note:Requirements
(2) The ice navigator on a vessel must
(a) have all of the qualifications under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 to act as a master or a person in charge of the deck watch; and
(b) either:
(i) have served on a vessel in the capacity of master or person in charge of the deck watch for at least 50 days, of which 30 days must have been served in international Arctic waters while the vessel was in ice conditions that required the vessel to be assisted by an ice-breaker or that required manoeuvres to avoid concentrations of ice that might have endangered the vessel, or
(ii) hold a certificate in advanced training for ships operating in polar waters in accordance with regulation V/4 of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978.
Vessels Intended to Operate in Low Air Temperature
Marginal note:Requirements
11 Any Canadian vessel referred to in paragraphs 6(1)(a) to (c) that was constructed on or after January 1, 2017, and is intended to operate in low air temperature must meet the following requirements if it navigates in polar waters:
(a) be assigned, by a recognized organization, a cold temperature service or winterization notation that is compatible with its Polar Service Temperature;
(b) have on board inflatable life rafts and marine evacuation systems that are designed to operate at the vessel Polar Service Temperature, or that are protected from cold weather or fitted with means to prevent the temperature from dropping below -30oC; and
(c) have engines, cooling systems, fuel systems, and starting systems of lifeboats, rescue boats, fast rescue boats that are
(i) tested as prescribed in paragraphs 6.10.2 to 6.10.4 of Part 1 of the Annex to IMO Resolution MSC.81(70), to start at the vessel Polar Service Temperature, or
(ii) protected from the cold weather, or fitted with means to prevent their temperature from dropping below -15oC.
PART 2Pollution Prevention Measures
Definitions
Marginal note:Definitions
12 The following definitions apply in this Part.
- arctic waters
arctic waters has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act. (eaux arctiques)
- cargo residues
cargo residues has the same meaning as in regulation 1.2 of Annex V to MARPOL. (résidus de cargaison)
- Category A vessel
Category A vessel means a vessel designed for operation in polar waters in at least medium first-year ice, that may include old ice inclusions. (bâtiment de catégorie A)
- Category B vessel
Category B vessel means a vessel not included in Category A that is designed for operation in polar waters in at least thin first-year ice, which may include old ice inclusions. (bâtiment de catégorie B)
- en route
en route has the same meaning as in regulation 1.5 of Annex V to MARPOL. (faire route)
- fast ice
fast ice has the same meaning as in paragraph 4.1.3 of Part II-A of the Polar Code. (banquise côtière)
- food waste
food waste has the same meaning as in regulation 1.8 of Annex V to MARPOL. (déchets alimentaires)
- from the nearest land
from the nearest land has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations. (à partir de la terre la plus proche)
- garbage
garbage has the same meaning as in regulation 1.9 of Annex V to MARPOL. (ordures)
- IBC Code
IBC Code means the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk, published by the IMO. (Recueil IBC)
- ice-shelf
ice-shelf has the same meaning as in paragraph 4.1.2 of Part II-A of the Polar Code. (plateau de glace)
- marine sanitation device
marine sanitation device has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations. (appareil d’épuration marine)
- noxious liquid substance
noxious liquid substance has the same meaning as in regulation 1.10 of Annex II to MARPOL. (substance liquide nocive)
- sewage
sewage has the same meaning as in regulation 1.3 of Annex IV to MARPOL. (eaux usées)
- waters under Canadian jurisdiction
waters under Canadian jurisdiction has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations. (eaux de compétence canadienne)
Application
Marginal note:Application
13 Except as otherwise provided, this Part applies in respect of Canadian vessels navigating in polar waters and foreign vessels navigating in a shipping safety control zone.
Conditions of Waste Deposits
Marginal note:Conditions
14 For the purposes of subsection 4(1) of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, waste may be deposited if
(a) the deposit is necessary for the purpose of saving a life, securing the safety of a vessel or preventing the immediate loss of a vessel;
(b) the deposit occurs as a result of an accident of navigation in which a vessel or its equipment is damaged, unless the accident occurs as a result of an action that is outside the ordinary practice of seafarers;
(c) in the case of oil, the deposit is a minimal and unavoidable leakage that occurs as a result of the operation of an underwater machinery component;
(d) in the case of fishing gear, the deposit is an accidental loss and all reasonable precautions were taken to prevent such a loss;
(e) in the case of fishing gear, the deposit is for the protection of the marine environment or for the safety of that vessel or its crew; or
(f) in the case of garbage, the deposit is the result of damage to a vessel or its equipment, when all reasonable precautions were taken before the occurrence to prevent and minimize the deposit, and after the occurrence to minimize it.
Prevention of Pollution by Oil
Marginal note:Operations in polar waters
15 Operations in polar waters must be taken into account in the Oil Records Books, the manuals, the shipboard oil pollution emergency plan, and the shipboard marine pollution emergency plan when they are required to be carried by a vessel under the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations.
Marginal note:Oil fuel tank
16 (1) Oil fuel tanks on Category A and B vessels that were constructed on or after January 1, 2017 and have an aggregate oil fuel capacity of less than 600 m3, other than oil fuel tanks with a maximum individual capacity of 30 m3 or less, must be separated from the outer shell of the vessel by a distance of at least 0.76 m.
Marginal note:Cargo tank — vessels other than oil tankers
(2) Cargo tanks used to carry oil on Category A and B vessels constructed on or after January 1, 2017, other than oil tankers, must be separated from the outer shell of the vessel by a distance of at least 0.76 m.
Marginal note:Cargo tank — oil tankers
(3) Subject to subsection (4), cargo tanks on Category A and B oil tankers constructed on or after January 1, 2017, that are of less than 5 000 metric tonnes deadweight, must be protected the length of the tank with
(a) double bottom tanks or double bottom spaces in accordance with the applicable requirements of regulation 19.6.1 of Annex I to MARPOL; and
(b) wing tanks or wing spaces arranged in accordance with the applicable requirements of regulation 19.3.1 of Annex I to MARPOL and complying with the applicable distance requirements in accordance with regulation 19.6.2 of Annex I to MARPOL.
Marginal note:Exception
(4) An oil tanker that is a Canadian vessel of less than 5 000 metric tonnes deadweight that does not have mechanical means of propulsion and engages only on voyages in waters under Canadian jurisdiction within 40 nautical miles from the nearest land is not required to comply with paragraph (3)(a) if the height of its double bottom is, in no location, less than the width calculated for its wing tanks in accordance with the formula in regulation 19.6.2 of Annex I to MARPOL.
Marginal note:Oil residue tanks and oily bilge water holding tanks
(5) Oil residue tanks and oily bilge water holding tanks on Category A and B vessels constructed on or after January 1, 2017, other than oil fuel tanks with a maximum individual capacity of 30 m3 or less, must be separated from the outer shell of the vessel by a distance of at least 0.76 m.
Marginal note:Non-application
(6) Subsections (1) to (3) and (5) do not apply to vessels referred to in paragraph 46(2)(b) of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations.
Control of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk
Marginal note:Operations in polar waters
17 Operations in polar waters must be taken into account in the Cargo Record Book, the procedures and arrangements manual, the shipboard marine pollution emergency plan for noxious liquid substances and the shipboard marine pollution emergency plan, when they are required to be carried by the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations.
Marginal note:Prohibition
18 It is prohibited to carry the following noxious liquid substances in a cargo tank on a Category A or B vessel that is constructed on or after January 1, 2017, unless the cargo tank is separated from the outer shell of the vessel by a distance of at least 0.76 m:
(a) a substance listed in the table to Chapter 17 of the IBC Code, if the vessel specified in column “e” of the table is of type 3; and
(b) a substance listed in Chapter 18 of the IBC Code.
Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Vessels
Marginal note:Prohibition to discharge — sewage
19 A Canadian vessel of a gross tonnage of 400 or more or a Canadian vessel that is certified to carry more than 15 persons — or a person on board such a vessel — must not discharge sewage in polar waters other than arctic waters, unless the discharge is made in accordance with the conditions set out in subsections 20(1) to (3) or in the applicable circumstances set out in section 14.
Marginal note:Deposit of sewage
20 (1) For the purposes of subsection 4(1) of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, a vessel of a gross tonnage of 400 or more or a vessel that is certified to carry more than 15 persons — or a person on board such a vessel — may deposit sewage if,
(a) when the sewage is comminuted and disinfected, the deposit is made in accordance with regulation 11.1.1 of Annex IV to MARPOL and the vessel is located at a distance of at least three nautical miles from an ice-shelf or fast ice, and is as far as practicable from areas of ice concentrations exceeding 1/10;
(b) when the sewage is not comminuted or disinfected, the deposit is made in accordance with regulation 11.1.1 of Annex IV to MARPOL and the vessel is located at a distance of at least 12 nautical miles from an ice-shelf or fast ice, and is as far as practicable from areas of ice concentration exceeding 1/10; or
(c) when the vessel operates a sewage treatment plant of an approved type, the deposit is made in accordance with regulation 11.1.2 of Annex IV to MARPOL and the vessel is as far as practicable from the nearest land, ice-shelf, fast ice or areas of ice concentration exceeding 1/10.
Marginal note:Non-application
(2) Paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) do not apply to Category A and B vessels constructed on or after January 1, 2017, and all passenger vessels constructed on or after January 1, 2017.
Marginal note:Exception
(3) If a Category A or B vessel is operating in an area of ice conditions exceeding 1/10 for an extended period of time, the vessel — or a person on board such a vessel — may deposit sewage that has been treated using a sewage treatment plant of an approved type.
Marginal note:Approval
(4) For the purposes of this section, a sewage treatment plant is of an approved type if the type is approved
(a) in the case of a Canadian vessel, by the Minister as meeting the recommendations and guidelines referred to in regulation 9.1.1 or 9.2.1 of Annex IV to MARPOL;
(b) in the case of a foreign vessel, by the competent authority as meeting the recommendations and guidelines referred to in regulation 9.1.1 or 9.2.1 of Annex IV to MARPOL.
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