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Load Line Regulations (SOR/2007-99)

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Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2023-12-20. Previous Versions

Load Line Regulations

SOR/2007-99

CANADA SHIPPING ACT, 2001

Registration 2007-05-10

Load Line Regulations

P.C. 2007-721 2007-05-10

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, pursuant to paragraphs 35(1)(d) and 120(1)(h) of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001Footnote a, hereby makes the annexed Load Line Regulations.

Interpretation

  •  (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

    1966 Convention

    1966 Convention means the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966. (Convention de 1966)

    Act

    Act means the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. (Loi)

    Board

    Board means the Marine Technical Review Board established under section 26 of the Act. (Bureau)

    classification society

    classification society means the American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, Det Norske Veritas, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, Germanischer Lloyd, Registro Italiano Navale and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai. (société de classification)

    Convention

    Convention means the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966, as modified by the Protocol. (Convention)

    domestic voyage

    domestic voyage means a voyage that is from a place in Canada to another place in Canada. (voyage intérieur)

    freeboard deck

    freeboard deck in respect of a vessel, means

    • (a) the vessel’s uppermost complete deck that is exposed to weather and sea and has permanent means of closing all openings in its exposed parts, and below which all openings in the shell of the vessel are fitted with permanent means of watertight closing; or

    • (b) a permanent deck that is lower than the deck referred to in paragraph (a), is continuous in a fore and aft direction at least between the machinery space and peak bulkheads and continuous athwartships if the vessel’s owner requests that lower deck. (pont de franc-bord)

    HSC Code

    HSC Code means the International Code of Safety for High Speed Craft, 2000, (2000 HSC CODE), published by the IMO, as amended from time to time. (recueil HSC)

    IMO

    IMO means the International Maritime Organization. (OMI)

    inland voyage

    inland voyage has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Vessel Safety Certificates Regulations. (voyage en eaux internes)

    inland waters of Canada

    inland waters of Canada has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Vessel Safety Certificates Regulations. (eaux internes du Canada)

    Minister

    Minister means the Minister of Transport. (ministre)

    open-hopper dredge

    open-hopper dredge means a self-propelled dredge with an open hold or hopper in the hull that receives dredged material and is fitted with bottom doors that can quickly jettison the dredged material. (marie-salope)

    place

    place means

    • (a) a port; or

    • (b) any vessel or place that is used for loading or unloading vessels. (lieu)

    Protocol

    Protocol means the 1988 Protocol relating to the International Convention on Load lines, 1966, as amended on January 1, 2005. (Protocole)

    sheltered waters voyage

    sheltered waters voyage has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Vessel Safety Certificates Regulations. (voyage en eaux abritées)

    superstructure

    superstructure means a decked structure on the freeboard deck of a vessel extending from side to side of the vessel or with the side plating not being more than four per cent of the breadth inboard of the shell plating, and includes that part of the hull extending above the freeboard deck if the freeboard deck is a lower deck. (superstructure)

    watertight

    watertight means designed to withstand a static head of water without any leakage. (étanche à l’eau)

  • (2) For the purpose of these Regulations, a vessel is constructed on the earliest of

    • (a) the day on which its keel is laid,

    • (b) the day on which construction identifiable with a specific vessel begins, and

    • (c) the day on which assembly of the vessel reaches the lesser of 50 tonnes and one per cent of the estimated mass of all structural material.

  • (3) Subject to subsection (4), for the purpose of these Regulations, every reference to “Administration” in a document incorporated by reference in these Regulations means

    • (a) in the case of a Canadian vessel, the Minister; and

    • (b) in the case of a foreign vessel, the government of the state whose flag the vessel is entitled to fly.

  • (4) For the purpose of these Regulations, every reference to “Administration” in articles 6 and 8 of the 1966 Convention or the Convention means, in the case of a Canadian vessel, the Board.

  • (5) For the purpose of interpreting a document incorporated by reference in these Regulations, “should” shall be read to mean “shall”.

PART 1Circle Load Lines

Interpretation

 The following definitions apply in this Part.

amidships

amidships means the middle of the length of a vessel. (milieu du bâtiment)

deck line

deck line means a horizontal line that is 300 mm long and 25 mm wide marked amidships on the outer surface of the shell on each side of the vessel. (ligne de pont)

existing vessel

existing vessel means a vessel that is not a new vessel. (bâtiment existant)

international voyage

international voyage means a voyage, other than an inland voyage, between a place in Canada and a place not in Canada or between places not in Canada. (voyage international)

length

length

  • (a) in respect of a new vessel, has the same meaning as in article 2(8) of Annex A to the Convention; and

  • (b) in respect of an existing vessel, has the same meaning as in subsection 1(2) of Schedule I to the Rules. (longueur)

new vessel

new vessel means

  • (a) a Canadian vessel

    • (i) that was constructed on or after April 14, 1970 and is engaged on an international voyage,

    • (ii) that was constructed on or after April 14, 1973 and is not engaged on an international voyage, or

    • (iii) that was constructed before April 14, 1970 and is engaged on an international voyage, or that was constructed before April 14, 1973 and is not engaged on an international voyage, if the authorized representative makes a request in writing to the Minister for the vessel to be assigned freeboards as a new vessel; or

  • (b) a foreign vessel that was constructed on or after the date on which the 1966 Convention came into force in the state whose flag the vessel is entitled to fly. (bâtiment neuf)

North American Great Lakes Zone

North American Great Lakes Zone means Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, the waters connecting those lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the St. Lawrence River west of the Victoria Bridge in Montréal. (zone des Grands Lacs de l’Amérique du Nord)

Rules

Rules means the General Load Line Rules, C.R.C., c. 1425, as they read on January 1, 2006. (Règles)

sailing vessel

sailing vessel means a vessel that has sufficient sail area for navigation under sails alone, whether or not fitted with mechanical means of propulsion. (voilier)

St. Lawrence River Seasonal Area

St. Lawrence River Seasonal Area means that part of the St. Lawrence River bounded by the Victoria Bridge in Montréal, a straight line drawn from Cap-des-Rosiers to West Point, Anticosti Island, and a line drawn along the meridian of longitude 63°W from Anticosti Island to the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. (région saisonnière du fleuve Saint-Laurent)

tanker

tanker means a vessel specially constructed for the carriage of liquid cargoes in bulk. (bâtiment-citerne)

timber deck cargo

timber deck cargo means a cargo of timber carried on an uncovered part of a freeboard deck or superstructure deck. (chargement de bois en pontée)

West Coast Treaty Zone

West Coast Treaty Zone means

  • (a) the waters of Puget Sound in the State of Washington;

  • (b) the waters lying between Vancouver Island and the mainland and east of a line from a point one nautical mile west of the city limits of Port Angeles in the State of Washington to Race Rocks on Vancouver Island and of a line from Hope Island, British Columbia, to Cape Calvert, Calvert Island, British Columbia;

  • (c) the waters lying east of a line from Cape Calvert to Duke Point on Duke Island in the State of Alaska;

  • (d) the waters lying north of Duke Island and east of Prince of Wales Island, Baranof Island and Chichagof Island in the State of Alaska;

  • (e) the waters of Peril, Neva and Olga Straits as far south as Sitka in the State of Alaska; and

  • (f) the waters lying east of a line from Port Althorp on Chichagof Island to Cape Spencer in the State of Alaska. (zone d’application du Traité — côte ouest)

  • SOR/2013-235, s. 14

Application

  •  (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part applies in respect of Canadian vessels everywhere and foreign vessels in Canadian waters.

  • (2) This Part does not apply in respect of

    • (a) pleasure craft;

    • (b) vessels ordinarily engaged in catching, attempting to catch or harvesting fish, whales, seals, walrus or other living resources of the sea;

    • (c) high-speed craft that have been certified in accordance with the HSC Code and meet the requirements of that Code;

    • (d) new vessels of less than 24 m in length;

    • (e) existing vessels of less than 150 gross tonnage;

    • (f) vessels that are engaged on

      • (i) a voyage solely within the limits of the inland waters of Canada or an inland voyage and holding a certificate issued under Part 2 or similar load line regulations made under the laws of the United States,

      • (ii) a sheltered waters voyage, or

      • (iii) a domestic voyage, if the vessels are not carrying passengers or cargo;

    • (g) Canadian vessels or vessels registered in the United States that are engaged on an international voyage wholly within the West Coast Treaty Zone;

    • (h) new vessels that do not have means of self-propulsion that

      • (i) are engaged on a domestic voyage wholly within the West Coast Treaty Zone and are not carrying oil as cargo or passengers, or

      • (ii) are engaged on a domestic voyage outside the West Coast Treaty Zone and are not carrying oil as cargo, passengers or crew; or

    • (i) existing vessels that do not have means of self-propulsion, are engaged on a domestic voyage and are not carrying passengers or crew.

  • SOR/2013-235, s. 15(F)

Exceptions

  •  (1) Despite paragraphs 3(2)(f) and (g), a vessel that is constructed or converted for the purpose of towing on or after the day on which the Vessel Construction and Equipment Regulations come into force and that is engaged on a voyage beyond the limits of an inland voyage shall meet the conditions of assignment set out in Chapter II of Annex I of Annex B of Part 3 of the Convention.

  • (2) Despite paragraphs 3(2)(f) to (i), a vessel that is constructed on or after the day on which the Vessel Construction and Equipment Regulations come into force, that carries at least one person and that is engaged on a voyage beyond the limits of an inland voyage shall comply with regulations 24 and 25 of Chapter II of Annex I of Annex B of Part 3 of the Convention.

Prohibitions

  •  (1) No Canadian vessel shall depart on a domestic voyage unless it

    • (a) holds an International Load Line Certificate, a Local Load Line Certificate or an International Load Line Exemption Certificate issued under section 5; and

    • (b) is marked in accordance with the certificate.

  • (2) No Canadian vessel shall depart on an international voyage unless it

    • (a) holds an International Load Line Certificate or an International Load Line Exemption Certificate issued under section 5; and

    • (b) is marked in accordance with the certificate.

  • (3) No foreign vessel shall depart from a place in Canada unless it

    • (a) holds an International Load Line Certificate or an International Load Line Exemption Certificate issued by the government of the state whose flag the vessel is entitled to fly or, at the request of that government, by another government; and

    • (b) is marked in accordance with the certificate.

Certificates

  •  (1) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is a new vessel and was constructed before the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

    • (a) the conditions of assignment set out in Chapter II of Annex I to the 1966 Convention are met;

    • (b) the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

    • (c) the vessel has been assigned freeboards that

      • (i) are determined in accordance with Chapter III of Annex I to the 1966 Convention, or

      • (ii) if the freeboards determined under subparagraph (i) are not adequate because of the general structural strength of the vessel, are adequate for the general structural strength of the vessel; and

    • (d) the vessel is marked in accordance with Chapter I of Annex I to the 1966 Convention.

  • (2) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is a new vessel and was constructed on or after the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

    • (a) the conditions of assignment set out in Chapter II of Annex I to the Convention are met;

    • (b) the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

    • (c) the vessel has been assigned freeboards that

      • (i) are determined in accordance with Chapter III of Annex I to the Convention, or

      • (ii) if the freeboards determined under subparagraph (i) are not adequate because of the general structural strength of the vessel, are adequate for the general structural strength of the vessel; and

    • (d) the vessel is marked in accordance with Chapter I of Annex I to the Convention.

  • (3) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is an existing vessel, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

    • (a) the conditions of assignment set out in Part I of Schedule I to the Rules are met;

    • (b) the vessel is maintained in accordance with the requirements of a classification society;

    • (c) the vessel has been assigned freeboards determined in accordance with

      • (i) in the case of a vessel other than a sailing vessel or tanker, Part II of Schedule I to the Rules and, if the vessel is carrying timber deck cargo, Part IV of that Schedule,

      • (ii) in the case of a sailing vessel, Part III of Schedule I to the Rules, or

      • (iii) in the case of a tanker, Part V of Schedule I to the Rules; and

    • (d) the vessel is marked in accordance with Part VI of Schedule I to the Rules.

  • (4) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is a new vessel, the Minister shall issue a Local Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

    • (a) the intended operation of the vessel provides an equivalent or greater level of safety than one or more of the requirements set out in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be; and

    • (b) the other requirements set out in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, are met.

  • (4.1) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel that is an existing vessel, the Minister shall issue a Local Load Line Certificate to the vessel if

    • (a) the intended operation of the vessel provides an equivalent or greater level of safety than one or more of the requirements set out in subsection (3); and

    • (b) the other requirements set out in subsection (3) are met.

  • (5) On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel, the Minister shall issue an International Load Line Exemption Certificate to the vessel if it has been granted an exemption by the Board under section 13 and

    • (a) subject to the terms of that exemption, the requirements of subsection (1), (2) or (3), as the case may be, are met; and

    • (b) any design-, contruction- or equipment-related safety requirements set by the Board under that section are met.

  • (6) A Local Load Line Certificate that is issued to an open-hopper dredge shall include a dredging load line if

    • (a) it has been assigned a dredging freeboard that is 62.5 per cent of the assigned summer freeboard or 150 mm, whichever is greater; and

    • (b) it is marked with the dredging load line placed directly below the deck line so that its upper edge marks the assigned dredging freeboard and the letters “WD” are marked forward of this line.

  • (7) Despite paragraphs (1)(d), (2)(d) and (3)(d), the Minister may issue a certificate if

  • (8) Despite paragraph (6)(b), the Minister may issue a certificate that includes a dredging load line if the dredging load line is placed so that the dredging freeboard is greater than that required by that paragraph.

 

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