A month ago I had a good old rant about the DSC feature of Crew Overboard Beacons not being approved by the Canadian authorities.
Well, AAC Contributor Matt Marsh went way better than ranting by writing an eloquent and well-researched letter to François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, & Economic Development.
And, better yet, all of us Canadian boaters who would rather not have the risk of dying in a COB incident increased by the inaction of a bureaucracy, can sign it, which I have done.
Added my support, which you can do as a non Canadian. Surprised that this is not supported in Canada. Then again, when I work in Canada I need Canadian approved PPE, with the green maple leaf, that is exactly the same as my non Canadian PPE.
Canada has a bit of “not invented here” syndrome when it comes to safety standards.
Often, that’s a good thing; a lot of sketchy industrial stuff that you can get away with elsewhere (at the risk of injuring workers) just won’t fly in Canada.
Other times, though, it’s just unnecessary bureaucracy getting in the way. Canada has ten different electrical safety authorities that don’t all agree on which test labs and certifications to recognize – a gadget with a “TUV Nord” approval, valid nearly worldwide, will raise red flags with an Ontario, Canada inspector because that lab isn’t on the locally-accredited list. Likewise, the worldwide gold standard for non-SOLAS lifejackets is ISO 12402, but in order to count towards your legal carriage requirement in Canada, a lifejacket must be locally certified against the weaker standards TP14475E and CAN/CGSB-65.7 or 65.11. The market for high-end lifejackets is small enough that many vendors don’t bother paying for the Canadian stamp, and Canadian sailors wear the better European gear in practice while keeping a set of cheap Canadian ones in a locker in case of inspection.
In the case of VHF-DSC+AIS MOB devices, there was a legitimate concern with some of the early ones that the DSC DISTRESS message could not be properly acknowledged and would potentially keep transmitting, interfering with other DSC transmissions. That issue has been completely resolved with the new EU harmonized standards, so there’s no technical reason to disallow their sale anymore.
Thank you Matt for putting this letter together. I have run into a similar problem with the import of far uvc devices in to Canada. These devices are effective in deactivating viruses in air but currently blocked in Canada. Hoping your efforts pay off!
Hi Allard,
Thank Matt, all I did was rant, he grasped the nettle—way more useful.
Excellent letter
BTW a practical work-around is to program your MOB 1 or similar while on the high seas, or in one of theMANY countries that have no restrictions
This works for units purchased in the US, and I think Canada
Hi Neil,
Good point. And of course as law abiding Canadians you and I would never dream of suggesting that anyone use a VPN to download the software, or even have a friend send it to us from another country via, say, DropBox.
Hi John,
I don’t think the VPN idea will work
Our MOB 1 came with software installed. When I tried configuring it at home in BC, the options such as all ships DSC call were greyed out
I waited till we were on board in Guatemala and was free to configure as I wished.
Someone setting sail from Canada could delay configuring until in international waters.
Hi Neil,
I was referring to the PC software used to configure the MOB1, which used to work anywhere if you could get it—of course I know that only because I was told. But I guess they could have updated the software so that it checks the IP address of the computer you are using to geolocate, but then if you disconnected from the internet…
GPS-based or GeoIP-based geofencing of features that are constrained by local law is a widespread and common practice. That’s probably what they’re doing here. Evading local regulations is the sort of thing that a government might not notice when it’s an individual, but will definitely come down hard on a foreign company for.
I am pleased to see that a hundred mariners have co-signed this so far. It has been submitted to the Minister of Innovation, Science, & Economic Development, the Office of Spectrum Management, the Canadian Coast Guard, and the Minister of Fisheries & Oceans. And the open letter is of course still open for further signatures. Let us hope for some expedited action on the matter.
Hi Matt,
Great work, thank you.
I do fear that the ministers and civil servants may be just a tad distracted at the moment, so maybe we can resubmit it in a few months, hopefully with even more signatures. Give me the heads up a couple of weeks before if you send it again and I will republish this tip.
So how did the Danscue boat get between the MOB and the sinking Canadian flag?
Good question, ChatGPT can be a tad unpredictable.