St Lawrence Seaway: Proposed Regulations Amendment

Under agreement with the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation is proposing to amend the joint Practices and Procedures (known as "regulations" within the SLSDC). Some of the amendments, which are intended to become effective from March 31, 2014 are as follows:

Navigation Equipment
Gyro compass error greater than 2 degrees must be serviced prior to transiting the Seaway, if noted during a Seaway transit, it must be reported to the nearest Seaway station and the gyro compass must be serviced at first opportunity.

When magnetic compass error is greater than 5 degrees, the ship is required to have the compass swung and a new deviation card produced, unless the “record of deviations” has been properly maintained and verified.

Anchors cleared
Every ship shall have their anchors cleared and have the anchor marking buoys free to deploy (weak link to hold buoy line on board) with the buoy lines firmly secured to each anchor and ready to be released prior to entering the Seaway.

Draft
The draft of a ship shall meet minimum draft requirement as defined at inspection on the ESI form and not, in any case, exceed 79.2 dm or the maximum permissible draft designated in a Seaway Notice by the Manager and the Corporation for the part of the S

Moorings
Mooring lines on deck must be individually attended unless the vessel is equipped with side control and visual contact must be maintained for signal from lock employees taking or letting go mooring lines.

Other amendments concern the submission of forms and clearances; services of shipping agent; payment of fees, and rules regarding the transport of dangerous goods.

The Notice of Proposed Revisions to Seaway Practices and Procedures to be Effective March 31, 2014 (PDF document) is available as a .PDF download at: http://bit.ly/1iciS7j