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2002 December Report of the Auditor General of Canada

December 2002 Report—Chapter 2

Case Study 2.3—Difficulty in ensuring compliance with construction standards for pleasure boats

Background

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible, under the Canada Shipping Act, for all matters related to the safety and licensing of pleasure craft. Regulations under the Act require that pleasure craft meet construction standards. Among others, these construction standards set out the specifications for flotation material used in pleasure craft up to six meters in length. Flotation material helps keep vessels afloat in case of an accident.

Problems with foam flotation

In 2000, the Office of Boating Safety received a complaint about the construction of aluminum boats by a specific builder. After an initial investigation, the Office of Boating Safety focussed its review on the various types of foam flotation in the marine industry.

Builders are responsible for ensuring that vessels meet the construction standards. Many builders indicated that the foam material used was imported and met comparable specifications in the United States. However, the Office of Boating Safety found that two of the eight foam suppliers contacted could not show that their product met United States standards. The review also found that most builders and suppliers contacted were unaware of the Canadian standards. None of the eight suppliers of foam flotation contacted were able to demonstrate that their product complied with Canadian construction standards.

The review noted that concerns were raised by many knowledgeable parties that, over time, foam flotation in small vessels becomes saturated with water. This would limit the buoyancy of such vessels in case of an accident.

Since the review was completed in early 2001, the supplier of the foam to the builder initially investigated and two other suppliers have demonstrated that their product does, in fact, meet the Canadian construction standards. However, the Office of Boating Safety has not yet received information from the remaining suppliers demonstrating that their products meet Canadian standards.

The Office of Boating Safety has limited capacity to deal with issues related to construction standards. There are approximately 300 builders of small boats in Canada and only three qualified inspectors within the Office of Boating Safety to deal with construction standards.

Our concern

We are concerned about the limited capacity of the Office of Boating Safety to ensure that pleasure boats meet Canadian construction standards.