Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Marine Traffic Trending up on BC coast; Environmental protection is where?

Can anyone explain why there hasn't been a 2008, or 2009, or 2010, or 2011, or 2012, or 2013 or even a 2014 'Environmental Trends in British Columbia Report'?  Was 2007 the ONLY one that has ever been done?
Page 34 Source: Environmental Trends in British Columbia 2007

Not exactly the clearest indication as to where the MV Simushir was plying it's trade from Everett, Washington to Russia (which ice-free port).  The image just shows the volume of marine traffic as of 2003.
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Update 2018-04-23
 via the Wayback Machine  West Coast Spill Response Study ....
  Page 16 of 106

British Columbia Ministry of Environment July 19, 2013  West Coast Spill Response Study Volume 2: Vessel Traffic Study

Why was the Russian freighter traveling so close to Haida Gwaii when it's destination was Russia? Red line the approximate routes.

The Green bar off of Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Islands - Tanker Exclusion Zone

The TEZ is just a line drawn on a map WITH the expectations (politically??) that surface vessels have the capabilities of leaving their havens of safety to rescue TANKERS who cross the line, maybe, if they knew where all the TANKERS were at any given time, eh


Was the Russian Freighter inspected by USA authorities before it left the port of Everett?

 Lloyds Registry
 Port state control is the inspection of foreign ships in national ports to verify that the condition of the ship and its equipment complies with the requirements of international conventions....

Is there a requirement for port authorities to check the Engineers log books?

On Page 3 of 106 of the Environment West Coast Spill Document from 2013:
.... This report is the first such extensive analysis of vessel traffic performed for this area. It compiles three different sources of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data for the area, including satellite AIS, and brings in information on barge movements (not included in AIS data) based on data from the Canadian Coast Guard and key informant interviews. With AIS data, we were able to examine vessel movements instead of just port calls, thereby including vessels moving through the area to or from US ports in Alaska and, more significantly, Washington.

The movement of vessels with AIS transponders was compiled for six passage lines that essentially frame the BC coast. Key information was then collected for each vessel to ensure accuracy and allow us to analyze the specific vessel type, size, age, flag state, and other information for more than 54,000 vessel tracks across those passage lines over the two-year period.

The vast majority of vessel transits (78%) occur in southern BC through the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the Neah Bay and Point Roberts passage lines. This percentage is somewhat shaped by the fact that there is a high percentage of overlap between these two lines. .......
Does the MV Shimushir have AIS capabilities?

ETA October 27, 2014  Shimushir's destination after being repaired at Prince Rupert is PROVIDENIYA

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/index/ships/range/shipname:Simushir

Why wasn't the Shared program of vessels transitioning through our combined waters being tracked by AIS

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Update: October 23, 2013
Vancouver Sun - Letter to the Editor
 JOHN O’BRIEN-BELL
........ Only a few weeks ago the ship, Simushir, was the subject of an inspection at a Chinese port. The inspection is reported to have found that the ship had serious engine and steering problems but the Simushir left port without attention to these problems. It is not known whether the inspection was routine or triggered by a Chinese concern for the vessel’s seaworthiness.

In any event, the freighter left without attention to the problems and crossed the Pacific to Everett, Wash. There is no evidence that repairs were made there. Finally the Simushir broke down in Canadian waters 16 kilometres off Haida Gwaii. Thanks to Canadian and U.S. rescue efforts, the ship was towed safely into Prince Rupert........  Source:  Russian ship had serious problems
Is China part of Lloyd's?

Lloyd's Register Asia  Based in Hong Kong, SAR of PR China, provides a full range of services in Asia.  Lloyd's Register North America, Inc.  Based in Houston, USA, provides a full range of services in the USA and Canada.
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Environment Minister Mary Polak and Energy Minister Bill Bennett and Minister of all things 'Obscurity Rich Coleman' haven't shown us is how much the category of Large Commercial Vessels in Northern BC is going up 2013 - 2032: