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MARINE SAR

Committee established to improve safety and response on Ottawa River following Lady Duck report

After four people died on the Ottawa River in 2002 while on board the amphibious vehicle, the Lady Duck, the Transportation Safety Board's report contained recommendations to increase safety on the Ottawa River.

One of the recommendations determined the National Search and Rescue Secretariat, in collaboration with local authorities and organizations, should promote the establishment of a system to monitor distress calls and to effectively coordinate SAR responses to vessel emergency situations on the Ottawa River between Ottawa and Carillon.

Lady Duck amphibious vehicle. Photo courtesy of the Transportation Safety Board.

The Secretariat established a working group to address the recommendation, and this resulted in an agreement to establish a permanent committee to further consider ways to improve safety and response to incidents on the river. The working group concluded the area in question is not in the Canadian Coast Guard's jurisdiction and there is no authority responsible for monitoring marine VHF channel 16, the international VHF distress frequency.

The solution was to publicize the fact there is no full-time shore-based service and those in distress should use VHF channel 16 to summon assistance from a nearby craft and call 9-1-1, if possible, to summon the authorities. Further, warning posters and notices have been placed at lock stations on the Rideau Canal and at Carillon, where boaters can gain access to the river, and existing Parks Canada pamphlets have been modified to carry a similar warning.

A new committee, named the National Capital Region Water Safety Committee, includes such members as local police, marina operators, Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, boat clubs, commercial tour operators, Parks Canada, Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard and will meet twice a year - before and after each boating season.

New marine distress system available in the Yukon

by Pierre Labelle

A recent announcement by the Yukon government will significantly improve boating safety. Boaters in distress on the Yukon's southern lakes will now be able to radio for assistance through the new VHF Marine Distress System, which will greatly improve SAR response time.

The Yukon system is a Canadian first because the Canadian Coast Guard will not monitor the radio traffic, as it does on coastal waters as well as inland waters such as the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Rather, the Yukon system is 'self-managed,' where boaters will be responsible for using radios according to the Marine Radio Operators Guide. The system operates from a series of repeaters strategically located on mountain-tops close to popular boating areas. International standard (VHF) marine radios operate on the system and may be purchased at local retail outlets.

This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from late May to early October. On receiving a call for assistance, Action Answering, a volunteer dispatch service located in Whitehorse, will immediately notify the RCMP. Once SAR officials are deployed, the system can be accessed directly from SAR radios to converse with the distressed boater and other responders.

This system was made possible through the tenacity of the Yukon Amateur Radio Association with support from numerous partners, including:
Industry Canada
Yukon Government
Yukon Electrical Company Ltd
Department of Fisheries and Oceans*
National Search and Rescue Secretariat
Yukon Power Squadron Society
Yukon Energy
RCMP, and
Daniels Electronics of Victoria.

* In 2001, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was provided approximately $83,000 in SAR New Initiatives Fund money to finance the capital costs required for the initial construction of the system.

Pierre Labelle is a Senior Policy Analyst for the National Search and Rescue Secretariat working in the Yukon.

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