After several years in progress, the final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) was released in November 2018. 

A total of 17 recommendations were made; most of the recommendations focused on maritime/Arctic search and rescue, but several were related to prevention, with potential implications for recreational boating governance.

The report notes that 100 recreational boating fatalities occur on average annually in Canada. Pleasure craft have historically represented the largest, single-search object category in maritime SAR. Witnesses noted a large and increasing recreational boating population in Canada; many of whom are new pleasure boaters, without experience. The Committee stressed the need to continually promote boating safety in all three Search and Rescue regions.

The responsibility for recreational boating safety currently resides with the Office of Boating Safety (OBS) in Transport Canada (TC). The Committee was briefed that OBS was transferred from the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) to TC in 20013, and that transfer is believed to have contributed to a reduction in SAR prevention and boating safety. OBS had once been recognized as the single most important source of funding for boating safety in Canada, but its influence had waned. The report recommends that the federal government return responsibility for SAR prevention and recreational boating safety back to the CCG, along with the associated funding.

CSBC comments

The CSBC is supportive of the need to review maritime SAR services on a periodic basis, and recognizes and appreciates the comprehensive approach taken by the Committee.

The CSBC welcomes the report’s recognition of the value of prevention as a key element of the national SAR system, as well as its highlighting of pleasure craft as the most significant category of maritime SAR incidents. The report focuses on prevention in the commercial fishing vessel sector, but unfortunately does not deal with its importance in the recreational boating sector. This would have given a more comprehensive picture of the prevention function, and the value of the key role played by the CSBC.

The CSBC notes the comments made in the report on the diminution of Transport Canada’s prevention function over the last several years, and the opportunity for the Canadian Coast Guard to play a more active role in this area, as a complement to its response activities. It would be inappropriate for the CSBC to comment on how the federal government allocates departmental and agency responsibilities. Under any organizational structure, however, the CSBC believes strongly in all partners working closely together to provide seamless SAR response and effective SAR prevention across all jurisdictions, and in every part of the country.

The CSBC welcomes the Committee’s emphasis on SAR in the Arctic and remote communities, and its recognition of the inherent and increasing maritime safety risks in these areas. In the CSBC’s boating safety work in the North over the last several years, we have experienced first-hand the value of local community-based safety initiatives, and the importance of all partners working together to design and deliver safety programs that are appropriate, effective and sustainable.

For more information: https://sencanada.ca/en/info-page/parl-42-1/pofo-sar-maritime/#collapse-item3.

Marine enforcement and educational campaigns in Manitoba (D Division) have grown exponentially over the past several years. Specifically, over the past 3 years the RCMP in D Division created a Water Transport Coordinator (WTC) position. This position supports and manages the Marine Program within Manitoba. D Division has the 2 ^nd largest fleet in the RCMP: over 50 vessels, second only to E Division (B.C.) which has 99 vessels. The fleet consists of a wide number of types and lengths of vessels. The northern areas utilize the vessels as basic police transport just the same as a police car; using vessels daily as transport to and from calls for service. The challenges and opportunities associated with the remote northern locations and busy recreational areas in the south provide a vast array of opportunities for the RCMP to connect with communities and recreational boaters in all areas of Manitoba. 

Since the creation of this position the RCMP in D Division have been better able to provide educational and enforcement initiatives, with over $300,000 in deficiency reports issued to recreational boaters (marine warnings). These warnings are shared with Transport Canada in order to track and provide a front line snapshot of the safety equipment and documentation not being carried by recreational boaters. The deficiencies vary but overall 90-95% of recreational boaters in Manitoba are deficient in one way or another. One of the most common equipment deficiencies is not carrying a watertight flashlight, or carrying one that does not work or has no batteries. The most common missing documentation is the failure to produce the vessel licence.  Many of the owners/operators stopped on the water have a difficult time locating their safety equipment within their vessel in a timely fashion. It is evident that many have never opened the packages after purchase! 

When the RCMP checks a vessel, the operators/owners and passengers are educated on the proper use and importance of wearing PFDs and lifejackets. Proper maintenance and approved types are always discussed. It is common in Manitoba, similar to other regions, that children and youth are wearing PFDs on the water but there is a reluctance for adults to do the same. Over the course of the next boating season surveys will be conducted to determine the percentage of adults wearing PFDs while recreational boating.

Another important aspect of the WTC’s responsibilities is maintaining, updating and providing training to the RCMP members. With a team of several instructors the WTC is responsible for all marine training. This includes Small Vessel Operators Proficiency, Marine Emergency Duties A3, and the Restricted Operators Certificate – Marine radio course, as well as a variety of in-house marine courses. D Division trains approximately 40 candidates per year, with a course running 6 full days. A successful candidate then has the basic knowledge of operating a vessel as well as trailering and police duties associated with the marine environment. It is then up to the candidates to further their skills out on the water.

All members conducting enforcement or educational patrols are equipped to detect impaired boaters, either by alcohol or drugs. There are a variety of methods and instruments that police use to detect impaired boaters. The laws in this regard are basically identical to impaired driving in a vehicle, with some administrative differences between provinces. The penalties are the same under the Criminal Code. Provincial liquor laws vary from province to province, and there are different laws pertaining to consumption and possession in a vessel. It has been my experience that the vast majority of recreational boaters respect the impaired driving laws.  There are, however, always the exceptions. It will be an interesting couple of years as we become accustomed to the marijuana possession/consumption laws. It has always been the message in D Division that boating sober is the only safe way to operate a vessel. 

We have in D Division worked in partnership with the CSBC for the past several years, aligning with the national campaigns of Operation Dry Water, Hooked on Life Jackets, Safe Boating Awareness Week and others. We have also worked closely with the Manitoba Life Saving Society (MLSC) on media messages and kick-starting the safety campaigns. 

The good news is we are just getting started! We are excited about continuing our work with the CSBC and MLSC and have seen a difference in recreational boating messages across the province. Although the lakes are frozen in Manitoba right now we continue to work hard, with the goal of having the safest waters in Canada.

Did you know that Manitoba has the 10 ^th largest freshwater lake in the world?! Lake Winnipeg, Canada’s third largest lake completely contained within Canada and has been often called an Inland Ocean.

We are at the halfway mark of summer in Tasmania and so far, the weather has been the best we have experienced in many years.

To date, we are fatality free but there have been a number of capsizes where the crew has been lucky enough to have been rescued or to have made it ashore. Some of these have revolved around the great Tassie desire to set a cray pot and catch fresh rock lobsters (crayfish). The crays have been potting well but people continue to take silly risks.

Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) has undertaken a comprehensive PR safety campaign for the summer and through to Easter. This is centered on servicing lifejackets, making the right decisions and the issues with older boats that have not been maintained.

Our staff is conducting many boat ramp checks right around the state and whilst the compliance rate is high, it is still most alarming to see the high number of old inflatables still in use that have not been serviced. We are coming up against rusty cylinders, poorly maintained jackets and complete ignorance with many owners of inflatable lifejackets. “It won’t happen to me” seems to be the common attitude. Some say they are good swimmers and others are “very experienced”. Many people are astounded when they see their jacket is simply not going to work, and they are straight onto having the problem rectified.

The MAST lifejacket voucher replacement scheme is going extremely well. MAST has teamed up with our Boat Safe Partners and is giving people a $20.00 discount to exchange their old standard lifejackets to the new standard. The old jackets are being collected and their condition assessed. Those that are in sound condition are being sent to Papua New Guinea where their Marine Safety team of three are doing the best they can with very limited resources.

Lifejackets bound for Papua New Guinea 

Last year was a record in relation to our School Education program. MAST visited 60 schools and spoke to 5,862 children in relation to the importance of safe boating. In addition to our school visits, an additional 9,500 students in grades 3, 4 and 5 were exposed to boating safety through the swimming and water safety program, which is a compulsory component of the public education system in the state. In this program, the children are involved in a variety of in-water activities. MAST has purchased several dinghies and these are located at pools across the state. The activities include children seeing what happens when you overload a boat, they experience what lifejackets will do when fitted correctly and they also see how difficult it is to put a lifejacket on when in the water.

These education programs will hopefully have beneficial safety results in future years.

Let’s hope the rest of our summer remains fatality free, but, as we know, one poor decision can change all that! Hope the ice starts melting soon and your boating season is safe.

Stay safe!

A new TV docu-drama series on Disasters at Sea is coming to the Discovery Channel Canada. A Northwest Pacific typhoon that sank a cargo ship and launched a twenty-year investigation. An icy fight for survival on an Antarctic cruise. A simple turn that inexplicably capsized a cargo ship in Norway. Shipwrecks of massive scale and significance have rocked the world, perplexed investigators, and changed the shipping industry. In this series, you will be able to revisit and reexamine some of the most mysterious and harrowing sea disasters of the last 50 years.

At the CSBC, our focus is on boating as a fun recreational activity, when safety is part of the boating trip. These ‘marine disasters’, beyond their historical significance, have served as platforms to make today’s boating safe and reliable. Coming in our April newsletter: more details about the series, including air dates and an exclusive interview with Kelly McKeown, Executive Producer of Disasters At Sea, including how the production company goes to great lengths to ensure everything is 100% factually accurate.  

While many Canadians are shivering in the snow and ice of winter, it is the middle of boating season for Aussies and Kiwis! New Zealand Search and Rescue (NZSAR) recently carried out a survey of alerting methods used by people who had been rescued as part of a SAR response. An alarming percentage of ‘boaties’ (recreational boaters) are reliant on their mobile phones for alerting, which is a problem as many parts of New Zealand lack cell coverage. Also, 4% carried no means of communication!

 

Percentages of boaties carrying this type of alerting device in their vessel:

Mobile phone                     93.5%

Marine VHF radio              48  %

Flares                                 39  %

Distress beacon (EPIRB) 19.5%

Satellite phone                    0 %

HF radio                              0 %

No communications            4 %

Other                                   6.5%

NZSAR now plans more targeted messaging around taking appropriate communications, one of the key Boating Safety Code messages.

We`re looking forward to summer! The LCBO will again support the CSBC through its Donation Box Program, running from May 26 - June 20, 2019 in liquor stores across Ontario. Read more about this in our April newsletter.

The International Boating and Water Safety Summit will be held in Jacksonville, Florida from March 24 – 27, 2019. To learn more about this year's IBWSS, visit www.IBWSS.org , "Like" on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/IBWSS , or follow on Twitter @IBWSS .

The National Drowning Prevention Alliance conference will be held in New Orleans from April 15 – 19, 2019. For more information, click here http://www.cvent.com/events/2019-ndpa-educational-conference/event-summary-8a8a6b41a9c74e0ba7fb1079cba49923.aspx.

The National Spring 2019 CMAC meeting will take place over two days on Tuesday April 16 and Wednesday April 17, 2019.