Small Fishing Vessel - Security Awareness

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Table of Contents

Maritime Security: A Global Concern

Guidelines for Fishing Vessels

Reporting Suspicious Activities

Transport Canada believes the best way to keep small vessels and small vessel facilities safe and secure is to promote security awareness.

In Canada, small vessels often operate near critical infrastructure such as hydro dams, power plants, chemical factories, bridges, and key marine assets such as merchant vessels, ferries or cruise ships, all vulnerable to potential threats.

The use of small vessels for unlawful activities could put our public safety and security as well as our national commerce, trade and economy at risk. That is why you should know how to reduce the risk of incidents using small vessels and know what to do if you see any suspicious activity on or near Canada’s waterways.

To learn more about security awareness in Canada, search the Internet for: Integrated Threat Assessment Centre.

Maritime Security: A Global Concern

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations agency responsible for improving maritime safety and security. In 2008, it issued voluntary security guidelines for small vessels and facilities. Transport Canada helped draft them. They encourage you to report suspicious activities to appropriate authorities, and describe best practices that we hope you will utilize.

The IMO voluntary guidelines will help you:

• plan for security incidents;
• offer security awareness programs; and
• prevent the theft or hijacking of, and unauthorized access to, small vessels.

Guidelines for Fishing Vessels

The following section is a summary of the IMO guidelines’ Appendix relating to fishing vessels not regulated under Transport Canada’s Marine Transportation Security Regulations. Remember: the overall safety and security of your vessel, crew and passengers is your responsibility.

Be prepared

• Adapt your emergency plans to include procedures for security alerts and incidents.
• Conduct regular drills. For example, if a suspicious device or package is found, the Master should, in addition to taking a suitable response:
  • Keep everyone well clear of the suspect items;
  • Keep everyone clear of all doors and hatches near the suspect items;
  • Report the size and location of the items, as well as the vessel’s location to the police and/or coastal authorities;
  • Determine the time required for police and other assistance to arrive;
  • Notify nearby vessels; and/or
  • Consider procedures for getting everyone off of the vessel as quickly and safely as possible.

Search your vessel

Search your vessel often to make sure that nothing suspicious has been placed on board or left behind. If possible, include any crew areas, stores, holds and other areas that could hide people or articles.

Secure your vessel

Without making it hard to escape the vessel in an emergency, you should keep external doors and storage areas locked and portholes secured. If you leave your vessel empty for several hours or overnight:

• disable the engine to prevent theft/unauthorized use;
• moor the vessel according to local port by-laws; and
• raise the gangway.

Limit access to your vessel

Other ways to keep unauthorized people off your vessel include:

• install over-the-side lighting, which lights up the whole hull and waterline;
• keep a good watch from the deck; and
• challenge all approaching vessels (if unidentified) and do your best to prevent them from coming alongside.

To learn more about the IMO security guidelines, search the Internet for: MSC.1/Circ.1283.

Reporting Suspicious Activities

Promoting security awareness is the best way to keep small vessels and small vessel facilities secure.The RCMP has a program to raise awareness and through which suspicious coastal activity can be reported. To learn about this program, search the Internet for: RCMP suspicious coastal activity.

Reporting suspicious activities is important because the RCMP, provincial and municipal police need the marine community and people who live in remote coastal areas to be their “eyes and ears”. There is just too much navigable water within Canada and along our borders for the police to maintain marine security without help.

DO NOT approach or challenge anyone you think is acting in a suspicious manner. Report suspicious activity to your local police service or call the RCMP at one of the numbers below.

RCMP Contact Numbers for Reporting Suspicious Marine Activities

• Newfoundland and Labrador 1-709-772-5400
• Nova Scotia 1-800-803-7267
• Prince Edward Island 1-902-566-7112
• New Brunswick 1-800-665-6663
• Quebec 1-800-771-5401
• Ontario 1-800-387-0020
• Manitoba 1-204-983-5462
• Saskatchewan 1-306-780-5563
• Alberta 1-780-412-5300
• British Columbia 1-888-855-6655
• Yukon 1-800-381-7564
• Northwest Territories 1-867-669-1111
• Nunavut 1-867-979-1111

United States Small Vessel Security Strategy

If you navigate on waterways shared with the United States, you may be interested in the Department of Homeland Security’s Small Vessel Security Strategy, released in 2008.

To learn more, search the Internet for: DHS Small Vessel Security Strategy.

Transport Canada Marine Security Activities

To learn more, search the Internet for: Transport Canada Marine Security.