Canada SVOP key terms

Under Canadian shipping law, a vessel of no more than 15 gross tonnage, or a passenger-carrying vessel certified for no more than 12 passengers, regardless of tonnage.

A Transport Canada certificate showing the holder has completed approved training in the operation and safety of small commercial vessels, required for certain small vessel operators.

A measure of a vessel's overall enclosed internal volume, calculated under international convention rules and used to decide which regulations and certificates apply.

The straight-line distance from the foremost point of the vessel's hull to the aftermost point, excluding fittings such as bowsprits and stern overhangs that regulations may treat separately.

The tonnage entered on a vessel's official registration documents, derived from measured volume and used for regulatory and fee purposes.

A vessel that carries people who are not crew and who pay or are otherwise provided passage, triggering additional safety, crewing and certification requirements.

An official document issued to a vessel that has been entered in the Canadian Register of Vessels, establishing its nationality and identifying details.

A Transport Canada document issued for a small commercial vessel that is not registered, allowing it to operate commercially under Canadian rules.

A formal credential issued to a seafarer who has met the training, sea service and examination requirements for a specific rank or vessel type.

Mandatory training covering firefighting, abandon-ship procedures, survival craft and personal survival techniques, required for crew members on commercial vessels.

A designated location on board where passengers and crew assemble during an emergency or drill so they can be accounted for and given instructions.

A practiced assembly of crew and passengers at muster stations to rehearse emergency procedures, confirm equipment readiness and identify problems before a real incident.

A written, vessel-specific plan describing the actions crew take for fire, flooding, man overboard, abandonment and other emergencies, including who does what.

The decision and ordered sequence to leave a vessel that can no longer be safely defended, including mustering, launching survival craft and taking distress equipment.

A lifeboat, liferaft or other craft designed to support people who have left a vessel in distress, with specified capacity, equipment and launching arrangements.

A personal flotation device designed to turn an unconscious or exhausted wearer face-up in the water and keep the head clear.

A wearable flotation aid that keeps a conscious person afloat and is approved to a stated standard, but does not necessarily turn the wearer face-up.

A protective garment that reduces body heat loss and provides flotation for a person in cold water, often required on vessels operating in cold regions.

A dangerous drop in core body temperature caused by cold air or water exposure, producing shivering, confusion and loss of function as it worsens.

The sudden gasp, rapid breathing and cardiovascular stress caused by entering cold water, which can cause drowning within the first minute.

A person who has fallen from a vessel into the water, requiring immediate alerting, marking of the position, manoeuvring and recovery actions.

A recovery manoeuvre that turns the vessel back along its track by altering course hard to one side, then reversing to the opposite side, so the search returns to the casualty's position.

A planned track, such as a sector, expanding square or parallel sweep, that a vessel follows to cover a defined area systematically when searching for a person or object.

A distress beacon that, once activated, transmits an alert and position through the satellite system so rescue authorities can locate the vessel.

A radio feature that sends coded distress, urgency and routine alerts with the vessel's identity to other stations, typically on VHF channel 70.

A short-range marine radiotelephone system used for ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and distress communication, with channels reserved for specific purposes.

The spoken distress signal used on radiotelephone when a vessel or person faces grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance.

The spoken urgency signal used when a situation is serious but does not yet involve grave and imminent danger, such as a breakdown requiring a tow.

The spoken safety signal that announces an important navigational or weather message, such as a hazard warning or a gale forecast.

A regularly issued bulletin that informs mariners of changes to charts, aids to navigation, hazards and other information affecting safe navigation.

The international rules that set steering, sailing and lighting requirements so vessels can judge each other's actions and avoid collision at sea.

The vessel required by the collision rules to keep clear of another vessel by altering course or speed in good time and making the change obvious.

The vessel entitled to hold its course and speed while another keeps clear, but which must still act if the give-way vessel fails to do so.

The speed at which a vessel can take proper and effective action to avoid collision and stop within a distance suited to the prevailing conditions.

A continuous watch by sight and hearing, and by all available means, kept to detect other vessels, hazards and changes in conditions in time to act.

The reference level, usually lowest astronomical tide, from which depths and drying heights on a nautical chart are measured.

The predicted or observed vertical distance of the water surface above chart datum at a given place and time, used to calculate available depth.

The vertical distance between the lowest point of a vessel's hull and the seabed, kept positive by allowing for tide, squat and chart accuracy.

The practices and equipment, including garbage management and oily-water controls, that keep vessel discharges out of the marine environment as required by regulations.

A vessel-specific document setting out how garbage is collected, separated, stored, processed and discharged, with designated responsibilities and placards displayed.

A required log in which oil-related operations such as transfers, discharges and machinery-space bilge handling are recorded for inspection.