CMAC Presentation by SCVA President Armin Grigatis

Small Commercial Vessel Association

Ontario Region

CMAC presentation March 28, 2012

Honorable “CMAC “ members:

We are a newly formed group of Small Commercial Vessel Operators who would like to take this opportunity to express a number of concerns about Federal Regulations affecting our industry. Our group is mostly comprised of Marine Contractors, Marina & Taxi Boat operators, Tour Operators, Property Managers, Real Estate Brokers, Camp operators & Construction Support service providers. Our group is working in concert with another small commercial vessel working group in the Pacific Region who made a presentation at the Vancouver CMAC two weeks ago. It is our intention to bring this information to all vessel operators across the country in an attempt to encourage long overdue changes in regulations affecting our industry. From our preliminary surveys we are estimating that there could be as many as 10,000+ vessels in this category in Ontario alone.

Many of us have been working on Georgian Bay, The Great Lakes and inland lakes across Northern Ontario, the Muskoka Lakes and Parry Sound District for decades, and in some cases for two and three generations and possess considerable nautical skill & experience. 

Construction is a challenging and dangerous profession that requires significant training and experience to safely execute work on road accessible projects. When construction and the provision of related services occur in water access locations using small work boats, landing and deck barges etc. it adds exponentially to the complexity of performing  work safely. In a recent Transport Canada power point presentation in Port Severn, we learned that over 80 % of commercial vessels are considered “small commercial vessels” under 15 GT, yet very little support seems to be available to this industry.

“Principal Operator Certification and Training “

We have observed that most of the TC regulations appear to be aimed at larger ocean going and Great Lakes cargo and charter vessels. In particular, the “Principal Operator Certification and Training“ is for the most part not relevant to smaller vessels in our industry. Almost without exception, the graduates of these courses have commented that the course syllabus was helpful relating to general marine safety, lifesaving, firefighting and navigation and helicopter evacuation from large ships, but fell extremely short in providing meaningful education around the safe operation of work boats, landing and deck barges and the proper loading & lashing of loads for example.

Our power point presentation illustrates the kinds of vessels and operations that are prevalent in our service areas. It would be our hope that TC would consider the possibility that in the best interest of protecting the public and small commercial vessel operators, that new courses could be developed in collaboration with our industry. These courses could be an amendment to the existing MED-A3 & SVOP courses and include many of the protocols and safety measures already used by responsible small craft operators. More conventional and situation appropriate life saving protocols could be taught that fit challenges facing smaller craft.

In our opinion, all TC certified courses should teach and test actual operator proficiency . Every graduate should be required to demonstrate their competence to an examiner by taking the vessel for which they are trained, through its paces before licenses are granted. Wheeled Vehicles, driven on public highways with center lines, stop signs, lights and visual aids require vigilant competency testing in their intended vehicle before licenses are granted.

Waterborne vessels can be operated:

on all classes of waterway, in fog, high winds and high seas with only an occasional spar buoy to guide the way while dodging other unskilled individuals possessing PCOCs who have never had to prove their competency in the presence of a qualified examiner.

“One size should fit all “

The responsible small vessel operators in the region of Ontario have for the most part have embraced the requirements put in place by Transport Canada for Small Commercial Vessels however due to lack of awareness and enforcement, many operators are staying “under the radar “. Over the last few weeks our members have tried to understand the requirements that are going to be put in place regarding Med-A-3, SVOP and Masters Limited 60GT courses. Although there have been conflicting reports, 5 GT seems to be the limit for SVOP certification. Operators are often using vessels of less than 5 GT simply because of regulation, expense and lack of access to an operator having Masters Limited 60 GT license, even though a larger vessel may be safer and more appropriate for the application. We would submit that an experienced operator of a 5GT vessel who has demonstrated their competency, are easily capable of operating a vessel of 10 or 15 gross tons safely and efficiently.

If SVOP operators were permitted to operate a vessel up to 15 GT,  they could perform their duties more  safely in much shorter time where materials are being delivered to job sites.

Fewer trips = fewer departures and landings = lower chance of incident.

A vessel up to 15 GT is  much more stable when encountering rough seas due to wind or other vessels throwing large wakes,  as is often the case on the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay or the Trent Severn waterway. In these areas , non commercial pleasure craft vessels over 5 GT and even over 15 GT are often operated by irresponsible & unskilled operators having no more than a Pleasure Craft Operators Card that was procured by their 12 year old on the internet .

We believe that the size limit for operating vessels with an SVOP license should be increased from 5 GT to 15 GT.

Vessel Self Inspection

Transport Canada has undoubtedly been the center of much litigation as is the case with most governing agencies in these litigious times. We do not however, understand why TC have apparently abandoned their responsibilities around inspection of Small Commercial Vessels, particularly when by TC’s own account almost 80% of commercial vessels in this country are under 15 GT.

Transport Canada is also responsible for Aviation & Rail Transport but we do not see any relaxation of inspection and accountability in these areas. The provinces that regulate vehicular transportation under the High Traffic Act have not moved away from regular mandatory safety checks and vehicle inspections.

Can you imagine how safe our highways would be and how many accidents and litigation would ensue if vehicle operators were asked to “self inspect” their own cars and trucks with no regulatory controls? The current self inspection brochure is simply too onerous and confusing for the average operator. If left in place as is, most operators will not be able to comply either because of confusion or affordability.

In situations where marine related accidents occur, their insurance providers will have a field day with “legal loopholes “ because many operators will not be able to demonstrate that their vessels were in compliance with the current regulations. 

One of our members recently hired an experienced Marine Surveyor to undertake the task of inspecting 17 vessels between 2 and 5 gross tons because that operator found the regulations too confusing. After two full days of reading the manual and flipping back forth through the subjective and ill organized information, the surveyor was still not comfortable with completing the surveys or providing clear direction to the vessel owner on how to move forward.

Many of the regulations were simply taken from the very confusing Canada Shipping Act. The regulations are either not applicable to vessels of this size or the required safety equipment is not available or cost prohibitive. The cost to install all requirements could be more than the value of the vessel!

We believe that Transport Canada should return to the previous “Ship Safety “ inspection model which was extremely helpful to vessel owners to ensure safety of these vessels. If this is not possible, we would strongly advocate an extended  strategic alliance between TC and Canadian Power Squadron. CPS is already a provider of VHF radio training for Service Canada and one of many PCOC providers. CPS and Transport Canada have a good working relationship. The Office of Boating Safety has asked CPS to carry out the RVCC (recreational vessel courtesy check) inspections that used to be done by the Coast Guard Auxilliary. 

Voyage Classes 

Sheltered Waters Voyage – a voyage in Canada on a lake or a river above tidal waters, where a vessel can never be further than 1 nautical mile from shore, or that is on the waters listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of the Vessel Certificates Regulations. 

SCHEDULE 1, (Section 1), SHELTERED WATERS VOYAGES, PART 1, ONTARIO

	Column 1	Column 2
Item	Waters	Period
2.	The waters of Parry Sound (sound) and the waters off Thirty Thousand Islands east of a line drawn from the southwest end of Franklin Island to the northeast end of Sandy Island and from the southwest end of Sandy Island to the east side of Fryingpan Island	Beginning on May 15 and ending on October 15
4.	The waters of Georgian Bay east of a line drawn in a northerly direction from the mainland at 44°51.5′N, 80°0.5′W to the southern tip of Giants Tomb Island	Beginning on May 15 and ending on October 15
	and south of a line drawn from the northern tip of Giants Tomb Island to the mainland at Cognashene Point, including the waters of Severn Sound and Penetanguishene and Midland Harbours

We would like to propose an  amendment  to extend “Sheltered Water” classification from a line drawn from the south west end of Sandy Island, Georgian Bay in a southerly direction to the northern most tip of Giant’s Tomb Island, Georgian Bay, and include all waters lying east of this line.

This amendment would continue to include Frying Pan Island, on Georgian Bay along with the area drawn from the Northern tip of Giant’s Tomb Island to the mainland at Cognashene Point .

These waters meet the current definition of Sheltered Waters Voyage cited above whereby the route of travel is no more than 1 nautical mile offshore.

These waters are clearly marked by a buoy and navigation system maintained by Canadian Coastguard. The inclusion of these sheltered waters as described above would be a natural extension of what most mariners consider “sheltered waters” and are often more sheltered than other areas already designated as “sheltered”  such as waters off the North Channel of Manatoulin Is.

This proposal would offer a unified approach to the classification system rather than dividing various sections that are geographically similar and would have a similar “Risk Rating “.

Our proposal would enable commercial vessel operators to operate within the same guidelines as their counterparts south of the items listed in item 2 (southwest end of Sandy Island to the east side of Frying pan Island) and north of item 4 (south of a line drawn from the northern tip of Giants Tomb Island to the mainland at Cognashene Point ).

Secondly , we would submit that the Annual Dates for these voyages in all cases should be extended to between May 1st and November 15th of each year as these are common times for operation of small commercial vessels and barges.

Pleasure Craft Operators Card (PCOC)

This subtitle is in reference to the vast differences from one license category to the next and how it affects our members not only during our commercial usage but also as we encounter our pleasure boating counter parts. There is an immense double standard in compliance required between pleasure craft and small commercial vessel regulations .

PCOC – Pleasure Craft Operator Cards 

• many ways of obtaining a card
• many sanctioned issuers offer “guaranteed” success rates
• common place for cardholder to have another individual complete exam on their behalf
• zero practical experience required to obtain card
• exam instructors seem to have little to no boating experience (summer students)
• PCOC holders can operate vessels which can have extreme gross tonnage in the case of pleasure yachts (once again, no experience required) 
• PCOC holders can operate vessels at speeds which are twice vehicular Highway speeds with little or no experience 

We are certainly not the first group to criticise the PCOC program, which arbitrarily certifies operators of any class and size of vessel with a 30 minute quiz on navigation. Many operators were certified online with no accountability for how they achieved a passing grade. Recently there was a story on the radio wherein a pet owner was able to get a PCOC for his dog. This is surely a testament to how flawed the system has been.

Over the last few years, the public have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars spent promoting the flawed PCOC program through various means. Why did Transport Canada not dedicate similar resources to promoting the new small commercial vessel regulations and licensing requirements that came into law in 2007?  Until most recently the information was mostly spread by rumour. This is a program that could have been promoted through the Canadian Power Squadron or the Marina Operators association. Only recently have Transport Canada representatives been offering cursory “Town Hall “type sessions to inform handfuls of small commercial vessel operators.

Economic Impact

This information has come to us at the WORST possible time. The Northern Ontario construction industry is, at best, a seasonal business. It is almost ‘normal’ and certainly ‘socially acceptable’ for people to be laid off and collect EI for the winter and be rehired in the spring. The Construction Industry as a whole is just starting to emerge from one of the biggest recessions the world has ever seen. We also have just had one of the mildest winters on record coupled with the earliest ice-out in history meaning that many operators have vessels in the water and working 3-4 weeks ahead of normal.

Due to the total lack of consultation with the (small commercial vessel) industry, most SCV operators only recently discovered the July 1st 2012 deadline for commercial vessel licensing , and associated self inspection of vessels!
 

Costs

-The 60 Ton Masters (limited) licence course needed to drive the bigger barges to large jobs such as new cottages and septic beds. 

$1350.00  per student tuition PLUS 3 weeks wages @ $1,500 / wk  PLUS food and lodging in Owen Sound @ $100 /day. Estimated course cost of  $7,350 per operator.


In addition , the lost opportunity cost of the operator would calculate to approx. 150hrs @ $15/hr = an additional $2,250 for a staggering total of approx. $9,600 per operator! Many of the larger contractors have 5 or more operators on staff for a total investment of $48,000 or more.

Not included in these amounts are costs associated with the outfitting of vessels . A simple and universal example would be commercially approved keyhole life jackets at approx. $100 per Jacket. Many standard work barges are certified for 10-12 people putting an additional burden on the owner of around $1000 per boat!

In summary, the economic impacts of this initiative are extremely onerous for any size business. In some cases, business operators are simply not prepared for the sudden financial burden of this impact and may face staff layoffs or even bankruptcy.

We would additionally submit that even if a business owner has the resources to provide the aforementioned training and updated equipment. The operators are still not properly trained for the type of work being undertaken in our industry.

We respectfully request that a grace period be extended for the duration of the 2012 calendar year in order that Transport Canada and the Small Commercial Vessel operators have sufficient time to amend the courses for operator training, and that consideration be given to all of the points raised by our group .

Sincerely,

The Small Commercial Vessel Association (Ontario Region)

This document was prepared in collaboration of all members under the supervision of the President and 10 member Board of Directors.

Submitted March 28, 2012