Maritimes Seacoast Advisory Board (MSAB)

Transcription

1 Maritimes Seacoast Advisory Board (MSAB) Minutes of Meeting: Nov.1, 2011 Future Inns Hotel & Conference Centre Moncton, New Brunswick In Attendence: Mihai Balaban, Transport Canada Ches Carter, Halifax port Authority Don Cormier, Bay Ferries Ltd. Phil Evans, Xstrata Zinc, Brunswick Smelter Richard Goddard, Irving Oil Wynford Goodman, Belledune Port Authority Fritz King, Atlantic Container Line Les Parsons, Charlottetown Harbour Authrity Dave Whiting, Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission, Port of Yarmouth From Canadian Coast Guard: Randy Brown, Sandra Inglis, Joe Leclair, Anne Miller, Barb Morrisey, Mike Ouellette, Gary Sidock, Mike Voigt,

2 Maritimes Seacoast Advisory Board (MSAB) Minutes of Meeting: Nov.1, 2011 Future Inns Hotel & Conference Centre Moncton, New Brunswick Item #1: Opening Remarks/Introductions - Fritz King/Gary Sidock F. King and G. Sidock provided brief opening remarks. Item #2: Review of Minutes, May 9, 2011 Barb Morrisey All outstanding action items have been completed. Item #3: CCG Update Gary Sidock G. Sidock provided a brief update on the latest CMAC meeting held in Charlottetown. CMAC has made changes to its consultation framework. Previously, there were two meetings each year held in the Maritimes, and two in St. John s, NF. Now, there will be one meeting a year in the Maritimes, rotating between Charlottetown, Dartmouth and Moncton, and one each year in St. John s. Working groups for specific issues will be formed as required. Next meeting, April 3, 2012, in Dartmouth. Subsequent CMAC will be on September 25 in St. John s NF. Also, ice control guidelines have been officialy published. G. Sidock provided a brief overview on the Maritimes Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC)/Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Consolidation Project. Base Consolidation Three major facility projects are underway. New Regional Headquarters building at BIO and supporting infrastructure is nearing completion, with expected occupancy occurring in the spring of After project completion, the existing Dartmouth Base will be surplussed and disposed through the usual process. Charlottetown Base property has been sold and, for the most part, been demolished. CCG Charlottetown will operate from temporary facilities until the new Integrated Service Centre is ready. The Saint John Base has been sold, with final posession to the city of Saint John in June, CCG & DFO will work with the city to arrange a lease back arrangement until a new facility is ready. Buoy operations from Saint John will be migrated to Dartmouth once the new facility at BIO is fully operational. End result is that CCG will operate much more efficiently, with substantial savings realized and the avoidance of very significant costs that would be associated with the existing three bases. Fleet Renewal Government of Canada recently announced its decision on the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Seaspan Marine Corp. won the non-combat ship bid

3 which includes the construction of a polar icebreaker, three fisheries research vessels and an oceanographic science vessel (Hudson replacement) for CCG. Steel cutting is expected to begin in less than a year. NSPS does not include design work. For CCG vessels, a design then build approach will be used. Significant work has already been accomplished as far as ship design is concerned. CCG will be anxious to see these projects completed as quickly as possible. The money CCG will receive for ships is fixed. Therefore, because of inflation, every year that we don t build a ship, we loose about 5% of our buying power. Outside of the NSPS, (as they are less than 1,000 tonnes), nine mid-shore patrol vessels are being constructed at the Irving Shipyard in Halifax. The first will be delivered in early Two of these vessels will be coming to the Maritimes Region. We are also expecting two 22 metre vessels and one 25 metre near shore science vessel to be delivered in early 2012 as well. Major challenges for CCG include trying to balance client expectations with available resources. R. Goddard mentioned that there have been a couple of recent instances where some important navigational buoys were off position in the Saint John Harbour area and the process as to who to contact about this was not clear, at least not to the Saint John Harbour Master. M. Voigt mentioned that the number to call is posted in the front of the phone book under Emergency & Important Numbers. What s important to the mariner is not only the process and who to call, but an estimate as to when the problem will be resolved. Action Item: Mike Voigt will have an advisory sent out that will describe the process and who to call when there are issues with aids to navigation. The Advisory will be posted online and will be presented at the next MSAB. Item #4: MRSC/JRCC Consolidation Mike Voigt As this subject was discussed earlier, M. Voigt provided an update on Maritime Services. Canso Canal Business as normal, and back to normal level of service dates (April 14 Dec 23). Work has been completed on the gates. Waterways Surveys Business as usual for this year. Dredging has started in Sydney Harbour. A considerable amount of in-filling has occurred in the Miramichi this year with the limiting depth going from 6.1 metres to 5.8 metres. Aids to Navigation The Government of Canada is divesting of traditional lighthouses. A petition process has been underway for about two years that allows Canadians to nominate a lighthouse for designation under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act(HLPA) by forwarding a petition to the Heritage Lighthouse Program. The petition period ends May 29, MCTS Implementing optimum staffing levels. There will be no impact on service delivery. AIS project is operational.

4 C. Carter mentioned that they provide new employees an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Port (of Halifax). He extended this offer to CCG. It may be beneficial to MCTS employees and others. C. Carter questioned as to whether the SmartATLANTIC Inshore Weather Buoy Project has been discussed within CCG. M. Voigt confirmed that it has been discussed, however a final decision has not been made to date. C. Carter commented that the only cost to CCG would be for deployment of the buoys(s). The port requires a status report on this as the Port of Halifax and Port of Saint John need to make budget decisions around the project. A. Miller confirmed that maintenance details are being discussed at the national level. R. Goddard commented that it needs to be communicated that this is not an initiative that benefits only commercial shipping interests. There are safety issues that can be addressed by this project that can benefit all. F. King stressed that industry, as well as CCG needs to push this forward as much as possible. Industry in this Region is often not as vocal about their concerns as in other Regions. Action Item. M. Voigt will raise this with senior CCG officials and provide MSAB members with a status report. Item #5: Maritimes Region Area Contingency Pollution Plan Joe LeClair CCG Environmental Response has a national contingency plan that deals with policies and procedures related to how we respond to oil spill response emergencies. The plan has recently been updated. Also, each CCG region has a regional contingency plan that deals with the application of the policies and procedures set out in the national plan. As a subset to the regional plans, there are area contingency plans that address how CCG will respond in a particular area/port. There are two components of CCG Environmental Response services; response and readiness. Readiness has four components: 1. Maintenance Stock piling of equipment throughout the Region. 2. Training 3. Exercising 4. Planning Area Contingency Plans Maritimes Region is broken up into a number of manageable geographical areas. Contingency plans are GIS-based. They are stored on portable hard drives that can be plugged into any laptop on scene. Information on the hardrive includes all related contingency plans (e.g. Transport Canada Port Plan; Environment Canada, DFO Port Plan, etc), information on various local response organizations, logistics such as boat ramps, hotels, hardware stores and so on. Area photos are included and initial response strategies. Deepwater Horizon Discussion In Canada, offshore oil production is regulated by the National Energy Board. If a large incident such as Deepwater occurred in Nova Scotia, for example, the

5 lead agency would be the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB). An MOU between CNOSPB and CCG is in the process of being revised and should be ready before the end of December. CCG has a joint agreement with the USA and has signed the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC). Under the OPRC, CCG provides support to other countries signatory to this convention, and can also request support from them when necessary. Many lessons learned have come out of the Deepwater incident. One of the issues being examined is leadership competency profiles for senior managers to respond to a major incident. CCG is also looking at the concept of a national response team. In the Maritimes there are three private sector certified response organizations. These organizations and CCG will be meeting this winter, for the first time, to discuss response preparedness in an effort to improve the overall spill response capacity. Item #6: 2011/2014 CCG Business Plan Priorities Gary Sidock Business Plan A powerpoint deck outlining CCG s major priorities was discussed and distributed to members. CCG s key priorities remain: Renewal and maintenance of aging equipment and infrastructure; Our role in the Arctic; Strengthening our role in environmental response; Enhancing our role with respect to maritime security. Major activities for the Region will include managing the base relocations, balancing client expectations and needs with resource reality, managing demographics and building for the future. Item #7: e-navigation Mike Voigt Three documents were distributed on this topic: e-navigation Status Update & Next Steps, Draft Terms of reference for e-navigation Sub-Committee, and Canadian e-navigation User Needs Study Required Services Matrix. Representation from this Region on the e-navigation Sub-Committee includes Andrew Rae (Canadian Marine Pilots Assoc.) G. Sidock stated that there is an expectation that each region would create its own Regional e-navigation Sub-Committee. Volunteers for this committee are being sought. We need to get our voice heard at the national table. Next e-navigation Sub- Committee teleconference is on Nov. 2, Two issues: 1. the Smart Buoy Project 2. Ensure the Region s requirements are reflected. Action Item ALL We are seeking volunteers to sit on a Regional e-navigation Sub- Committee. If members want to volunteer, or know someone who would like to volunteer, please contact Mike Voigt. (mike.voigt@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or (902) )

6 Item #8: Icebreaker Requirements Fritz King/Mike Voigt In August, DFO approached the Marine Advisory Board and asked for comments on icebreaking regulations. A letter was sent to DFO on Oct 3, 2011, which F. King circulated to all members. One specific request from the Region was for a light icebreaker to be available on Dec.15 as opposed to Dec.21 to support Chaleurs Bay, Miscou and Northumberland Strait and eastern PEI. and that a medium icebreaker be dedicated to the area for the entire season in addition to the light icebreaker. While these requests are well documented, for this ice season, the light icebreaker coverage will begin on Dec. 21 in the Southern Gulf and a medium or heavy icebreaker in the corridor through the Gulf, a medium icebreaker in the estuary and a light icebreaker in the Newfoundland/Northern Quebec area. Over the next five years, there will be one less vessel available for icebreaking in order to schedule major refits in an attempt to keep our icebreakers operating as long as possible. M. Voigt distributed three documents for discussion: Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaking Operations Levels of Service (LOS), National Marine Advisory Board Icebreaking Sub- Committee Icebreaker Requirements, and, a letter from DG Maritime Services to the President of the Canadian Shipowners Association. R. Danells represents the Region on the sub-committee. M. Voigt referred to the Icebreaking LOS document and suggested members read through it when they can. It contains interesting statistics and useful information. M. Balaban confirmed that the Joint Industry Guidelines (JIG) have been released. Biggest change for the shipping industry on the East Coast is that in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ice control zone Victor has been sub-divided in Victor and Victor 1. Victor 1 is the Northumberland Strait. Now when Victor 1 freezes over, we won t be declaring an ice control zone for the entire Gulf. Also in the Chedabucto Bay area we now have ice control zones Xray and Xray 1 as described in the JIG. Action Item: R. Brown to send link and copy of JIG to members with the minutes. Item #9: Feedback from MSAB Way Forward Questionnaire Barb Morrisey After the last MSAB, questions were circulated regarding the way forward for MSAB. A deck with the questions and summary responses were circulated. Overall, the comments were positive, and those who responded said that they find these meetings beneficial. However, some suggested that the meetings are very CCG-focused. Feedback received includes: Board composition adequately represents commercial shipping interests but it must be flexible to include others; Perhaps more port representation at the table;

7 More discussion on fewer agenda items; More involvement of everyone around the table; It was suggested that the Independent Marine Ports Director might make a good addition to the MSAB Committee; Promote MSAB and website; and It might help to have appointments on the Board for a defined period and rotate appointments so that there is a mix of older members and new. F. King posed this question: Do we have a good understanding of how the issues discussed at MSAB differentiates from other meetings such as CMAC, the Halifax Shipping Association meetings, etc.? Does CCG, in the Region provide updates to industry in other forums? G. Sidock responded that the MSAB is really our only mechanism to communicate face-to-face with industry, other than sub-committees that are very issue-specific. S. Inglis suggested that we have presentations on each member organization on the services they use and require from CCG. G. Sidock suggested we reserve a standing item on future agendas for an industry presentation on a subject of their choosing. D. Cormier cautioned against expanding membership on the Board too broadly as the Board could become dysfunctional. However, he did state that if we do want more people he could get more interest from the ferry industry. He also suggested that we should be looking at what the Board, as industry partners can do to support CCG. Industry likely has dealt with many similar issues and can offer lessons learned and best practises on a number of issues that CCG deals with to aid CCG in delivering its services in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. Action item: Invite industry members to provide a presentation at the next MSAB. Action item: - All Please review the way forward deck, and give some thought to the questions posed on the last slide. Please provide any feedback to B. Morrisey (barb.morrisey@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or (902) ) Item #10: Round Table W. Goodman - On Oct. 24, 2011, the Port of Belledune issued a news release highlighting a new terminal, (terminal #4). The new terminal is open for business. ( W. Goodman offered any Board members a tour of the facility. Item #11: Closing Remarks Fritz King/Gary Sidock Next Meeting: April, 2012