27 Apr SCSCL Board Chair Attends Arctic Shipping Conference

Captain John MacIsaac, Strait of Canso Superport Board Chair recently attended one of the last international conferences being held anywhere in the world just before the world shut down in mid-March. This conference brought a wide range of experts from Canadian and European Universities, Government Agencies and Private Enterprise, including IMO’s World Maritime University, and the Danish Metrological Institute. There were academic speakers discussing the legal divide between Canada and the USA over the definition of “Internal Waters” The CCG Superintendent of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in the Arctic Cmd. Steve Thompson  gave an informative brief on their efforts to work with the Native communities to provide support during a SAR event.  The VP of the Arctic Circumpolar Council also spoke about the need to consult the local communities concerning regulatory control of access and environmental stewardship. The Speaker from Finland spoke about how new clean fuel options are the leading technical challenges in Ice breaker design with a focus on vessel endurance for the capability of reaching the North Pole.

The second day was focused on the Polar Code with several speakers from European schools discussing the use of simulation as a valuable tool for part of the training protocol. The 2 other related topics were the efforts to update the regulations for “Life Saving Appliances” ie; liferafts, emersion suits etc. The third topic of concern is the growing traffic of small vessels that are not required to follow the IMO or Flag regulations.

The effort to keep up with technology at the regulatory and training level will bring challenges and opportunities to the Maritime sector. This will be increasingly true in the area of autonomous vessels on the horizon in Arctic waters and our own.

The presentation done by The Canadian Coast Guard during the conference can be found below: