2020 Emergency Towing Vessel Monitoring Report

This Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) monitoring report was prepared by Nuka Research and Planning Group for the Proactive Vessel Management (PVM) pilot project on Haida Gwaii project committee, consisting of the Council of the Haida Nation (CHN), Transport Canada (TC), and the maritime shipping industry. The 14-month trial Voluntary Protection Zone (VPZ) for shipping on the west coast of Haida Gwaii is an outcome of the PVM pilot project on Haida Gwaii, as part of the umbrella PVM initiative under Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan. The PVM project committee identified the need to better understand ETV operations in relation to the VPZ as part of trial monitoring considerations and related discussions for improving the marine safety system.

An ETV can intervene in a potential drift grounding incident by taking a disabled vessel into tow. This can reduce the risk of groundings, pollution incidents, loss of vessels and cargo, and loss of life. This report analyzes the locations of the two ETVs leased by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), Atlantic Raven and Atlantic Eagle, in relation to vessels approaching (within 75 nm) or entering the VPZ to estimate response readiness (e.g., whether the vessel is in crew change) by recording ETV positioning, distance from the vessel, and weather/sea state to estimate time to respond if an incident were to develop. This information may be used to inform consideration of trial results and development of long-term measures, including Canada’s National Strategy on Emergency Towing (NSET).

This report uses Automatic Identification System (AIS) data on ETV movements provided by exactEarth and the Enhanced Maritime Situational Awareness (EMSA) system.