BOAT NUT HAS EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT THE ENVIROMENTAL NET CLOSING ON POWER BOATS
Boats come in all shapes and sizes. If you own a canoe, personal watercraft, sailboat, commercial vessel, pleasure craft with a motor or luxury yacht, YOU are responsible for using it safely, keeping it in good working order and properly disposing of it when it is no longer seaworthy. You are also responsible for any pollution-related costs, including clean-up and/or repairs.
TWO SUMMERS AGO SEVEN BOATS SUNK AT THIS MARINA
Here’s a brief look at the stages of responsible boat ownership:
- Plan to become a boat owner.
When you start to consider buying a boat, plan carefully. This is the time to budget and to find out what you will need to begin your boating adventure, in terms of documentation, insurance, training and safety equipment.
And, while it is the first stage of boat ownership, the planning stage is also the time to start thinking about what you’ll do when the adventure ends – sell the boat or dispose of it responsibly.
- Buy and license or register your boat.
Congratulations on becoming a boat owner! Make sure to license or register your boat.
While these words mean one thing when we talk about owning and driving a car, they mean different things when we talk about boats.
- Pleasure craft owners must license or register all boats with a 10 horsepower (7.5 kilowatts) or more engine. Note: If your boat is required to be licensed and it is not, you may be subject to a $250 fine.
- A pleasure craft licence is free. It gives you a unique licence number that you must display above the waterline on both sides of the boat’s bow. This number helps law enforcement and search and rescue officials in an emergency. Note: You must carry your licence document with you when using your boat.
- Registration has a cost. It gives you a unique name and official number. This number helps law enforcement and search and rescue officials in an emergency. It serves as proof of ownership in and outside of Canada.
- You must register a commercial vessel if it is powered with a motor of 10 HP/7.5 kW or more or is a commercial river raft. Note: If your vessel is required to be registered and it is not, you may be subject to a fine of up to $10,000 per day. Such registration:
- serves as proof of ownership in and outside of Canada; and
- helps law enforcement and search and rescue officials in an emergency.
- You must ensure that your licence or registration information is up to date.
- Meet all safety requirements.
- Responsible boat owners:
- keep their boat in good condition;
- Here are resources that will help you learn how:
- Pleasure Craft Owners: Transport Canada’s Safe Boating Guide
- Dispose of your boat.
- There comes a time in every boat owner’s life when they no longer want or need their boat.
- If the boat is still in good condition, you may choose to sell it. If you do, make sure that the ownership documents and the licence or registration are properly transferred.
- Note: Many people who sell registered boats do not know that, if the new owner does not complete the transfer of ownership as specified in Part 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, the registered owner could still be liable for the vessel.
- If the boat is in poor condition or no longer runs, you should plan for responsible disposal.
- How can I get rid of my boat when it’s not worth selling?
- Don’t let your boat become a wreck. This will save you time and money. Options for disposing of your boat vary across Canada:
- Find a boat recycling facility in your area.
- Search for charities or companies in your region that may want your boat.
- Ask the nearest landfill operator if they accept old boats.
- Ask local boat retailers if they take old boats in trade.
When it comes to a boat that sinks the rules are changing, at some point this new policy that includes clear out lines on who is liable can affect you. For example: You sell a boat and the title is not transferred, Some one steels your boat and sinks it, The boat owner fails to keep an eye on his or her boat and it sinks, or the owner simply does not do the maintenance. You will no longer be able to blame the marina for not watching your boat. It will be you who is liable even if you are under tow.
The big hit here will be the cost of environmental clean up, it will soon be a part of your insurance to be able to cover the possible staggering costs that are associated with this type of clean up. This year at Ontario Place Marina I watched for three days as a group of approximately five people worked around the clock to clean up a simple oil spill from a bilge pump pumping a mess overboard. New regulation will make the vessel owner responsible and they have three years to come after you for it. It is more important now than ever to be an active boat owner and understand what to look for and what to do if a situation arises were environmental damage can occur.
Transport Canada new legislation Highlights:
Did you know Canada is considering an approach based on the
International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, that would address the hazards associated with shipwrecks?
“Ship” means a seagoing vessel of any type whatsoever and includes hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft and floating platforms, except when such platforms are on location engaged in the exploration, exploitation or production of seabed mineral resources.
“Hazard” means any condition or threat that:
- poses a danger or impediment to navigation; or
- may reasonably be expected to result in major harmful consequences to the marine environment, or damage to the coastline or related interests of one or more States.
The Issue
Determination of hazard
When determining whether a wreck poses a hazard, the following criteria should be taken into account by the Affected State:
- the type, size and construction of the wreck;
- depth of the water in the area;
- tidal range and currents in the area;
- particularly sensitive sea areas identified and, as appropriate, designated in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Organization, or a clearly defined area of the exclusive economic zone where special mandatory measures have been adopted pursuant to article 211, paragraph 6, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982;
- proximity of shipping routes or established traffic lanes;
- traffic density and frequency;
- type of traffic;
- nature and quantity of the wreck’s cargo, the amount and types of oil (such as bunker oil and lubricating oil) on board the wreck and, in particular, the damage likely to result should the cargo or oil be released into the marine environment;
- vulnerability of port facilities;
- prevailing meteorological and hydrographical conditions;
- submarine topography of the area;
- height of the wreck above or below the surface of the water at lowest astronomical tide;
- acoustic and magnetic profiles of the wreck;
- proximity of offshore installations, pipelines, telecommunications cables and similar structures; and
- any other circumstances that might necessitate the removal of the wreck.
When boating in Canada’s waterways or along its coastlines, you may see abandoned boats and wrecks. They may interfere with safe boating, put public safety at risk and harm the environment. They are not a pretty sight. For example:
- Leaks may pollute the water and harm people and the marine environment.
- Abandoned boats or wrecks near public areas can pose safety risks.
- Boaters may not see them in time to avoid a crash.
- Other boats may be blocked from a passage.
The legislative objective of the proposed regime
would be to ensure that commercial vessels and pleasure craft whether or not they are registered, listed, or licensed under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, that become a hazardous wreck in the future, will be removed or remediated by their owners at the owners’ expense, and that owners have the financial resources to meet that obligation. The regime would also allow Canadian authorities to remove or remediate a hazardous wreck – broadly defined – subject to Canadian jurisdiction and where the situation requires immediate action, or where the owner fails to meet their responsibilities, at the owner’s expense. The proposed regime would not apply to wrecks in existence prior to its coming into force.
Most Canadians would agree that Canada needs to protect its shorelines, rivers, lakes and marine aquatic environments from hazards related to shipwrecks and that taxpayers should not be required to pay for the remediation of those hazards. However, Canada’s current legislative regime on shipwrecks is limited in that shipowners are primarily required to remove shipwrecks that are, or potentially are an obstruction to navigation or remediate potential or immediate threats to the marine environment.
. Insurance against liability for shipwrecks is an integral part of all marine liability insurance policies and prudent shipowners should already carry that insurance to protect their potential exposure to shipwreck costs.
There are a significant number of vessels that never venture out into the open seas, including some large vessels that operate exclusively on the Great Lakes. These vessels should also be included in the proposed scope of application and, therefore, subject to the proposed regime.
The proposed regime would also include a mechanism to exempt certain classes of small vessels, for example human-powered craft (canoes, kayaks, rowboats etc), that are unlikely to pose a significant shipwreck hazard. A decision to de-register or decommission a ship or an omission that leads to the cancellation of registration would not allow the shipowner to void his obligations under the Convention or the proposed regime in the event of a shipwreck
(a) a sunken or stranded ship; or (b) any part of a sunken or stranded ship, including any object that is or has been on board such a ship; or (c) any object that is lost at sea from a ship and that is stranded, sunken or adrift at sea; or (d) a ship that is about, or may reasonably be expected, to sink or to strand, where effective measures to assist the ship or any property in danger are not already being taken.”
Canadian authorities would have the authority to mark the wreck should the owner of the wreck fail to do so or when a wreck has been found but the owner cannot be located
Currently, the owner of a wreck is only responsible for removal of the wreck if it is an obstruction to navigation in Canadian waters listed in the Schedule to the NPA. The owner is also responsible for any pollution response measures. If the owner fails to do so, the Canadian Coast Guard takes the necessary actions and then seeks to recover the costs from the owner or, in the event of oil pollution, including preventive measures
Should the shipowner not remove the wreck by the deadline, or should circumstances require that immediate action be taken, the Affected State may remove the wreck at the owner’s expense.
In accordance with Article 10 of the
IWR Convention, the proposed regime would establish strict liability for the shipowner that would cover the costs of locating, marking and removing a wreck subject to Canada’s jurisdiction, including all related costs to government such as the assessment of hazards and monitoring of the effectiveness of remediation
.
If the towed vessel is a “ship” as defined in the Convention, then its owner would be strictly liable if, as a result of a marine casualty during the towing operation, the towed vessel becomes a wreck and is determined to pose a hazard. Where the towed vessel is registered and compliant with the all provisions of the Convention, the recovery of costs related to the removal or remediation of hazards related to the wreck should be straightforward under the new regime. However, if the towed vessel or object is not a registered ship, there could be difficulty in holding its owner liable or in even determining the owner’s identity. One approach to this would be to establish strict liability for the owner of the towing vessel for hazards arising from the wreck of the towed vessel or object and require that owner to maintain insurance for its removal or remediation. This approach was taken by Denmark when that state implemented the
IWR Convention
These contracts make the owner of the towed vessel or object liable if that vessel or object is lost and becomes a wreck even when the operator of the towing vessel has been negligent.
The insurance would also need to include provisions to be available for payment of wreck removal claims for quite some time after the marine casualty even if the policy would normally have expired during that period (within three years from the date when the hazard has been determined, or no more than six years from the date of the maritime causality that resulted in the wreck). This will be a particularly important factor to be considered if wreck removal insurance is part of a Hull and Machinery (H&M) policy rather than a Protection and Indemnity (P&I) policy.
The proposed regime would also provide for regulations that would make it possible in the future to extend the insurance requirement to vessels under 300 GT that would be enforced based on an honour system.
Section 29 of the MLA for vessels under 300 GT. This amount of insurance would be dedicated to wreck removal claims from public authorities only and would not be available for other claims that are subject to the LLMC. The insurance would provide public authorities with a right of direct action against the insurer and would survive the insolvency of the insured
Rights to recover costs under this Convention shall be extinguished unless an action is brought hereunder within three years from the date when the hazard has been determined in accordance with this Convention. However, in no case shall an action be brought after six years from the date of the maritime casualty that resulted in the wreck. Where the maritime casualty consists of a series of occurrences, the six-year period shall run from the date of the first occurrence.
ALL THIS FROM TRANSPORT CANADA
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