Canadian Coast Guard

MARINE COMMUNICATIONS AND TRAFFIC SERVICES MESSAGE SERVICE

Message Charges

Messages subject to full international charges:

(a)Quarantine messages addressed to “Quarantine”

(b)Messages requesting a doctor to meet a ship on arrival

(c)Ships’ business messages

(d)Private messages.

Applicable charges are available on request from MCTS Centres

Messages handled without charge by MCTS Centres:

Messages pertaining to weather or ice information and ice routing.

Messages concerning aids to navigation.

Amver Messages, addressed Amver HALIFAX

Radiomedical messages.

Messages reporting pollution.

Messages addressed to a port or a member of the Canadian Coast Guard that involves a report of a ship movement, position or condition.

Messages addressed to a Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) and Marine Rescue Sub-Centres (MRSC).

Canadian Pilotage messages

Official Naval messages.

Weather Messages

Weather reports in the international meteorological code, made at the standard synoptic hours of 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC, are solicited from ships of all nationalities which have been recruited by their own national weather service, or other weather services, to make weather reports on a regular basis. These reports should be made and transmitted to the nearest MCTS Centre, irrespective of the ship’s position. In fact, reports made close to, or even within sight of land, are equally important to reports made offshore, due to the greater variability of weather conditions in proximity to a coastline.

Pollution Messages

All vessels plying Canadian and adjacent waters are requested to report oil slicks or pollution of any type to the nearest MCTS Centre.

Medical Advice Messages

Masters of ships may obtain medical advice by addressing a radiotelegram to “Radiomedical” and routing it via the nearest MCTS Centre which will refer the message to the nearest medical authority and transmit the reply to the ship.

Quarantine Messages

In the following circumstances only, the person in charge of a vessel shall, by radio, at least 24 hours prior to the vessel’s estimated time of arrival at its port of destination and between the hours of 9:00 o’clock in the forenoon and 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon local time, notify the quarantine officer at the quarantine station designated in paragraph (3) for that port of the occurrence:

Where, in the course of a voyage of a vessel,

a member of the crew or a passenger on board the vessel has

died,

had a temperature of 38° C (100°F) or greater that persisted for two days or more or was accompanied or followed by a rash, jaundice or glandular swelling, or

suffered from diarrhea severe enough to interfere with that person’s work or normal activity,

(b)the person in charge of the vessel is, during the period

of four weeks preceding the estimated time of arrival of the vessel, or

since he last submitted a declaration of health as required by section 16, whichever is the lesser, aware of any instance of illness among the crew or passengers that he suspects is of an infectious nature and may lead to the spread of disease,

the vessel has, within sixty days of its estimated time of arrival in Canada, been in a country that, in the opinion of a quarantine officer, is infected or suspected of being infected with the plague, or

a certificate establishing that the vessel has been de-ratted or exempted from de-ratting procedures has expired or is about to expire.

At the same time, the person in charge of a vessel shall, by radio, provide the quarantine officer with the following information:

the name and nationality of the vessel;

the ports called at during the voyage of the vessel;

the nature of the cargo on board the vessel;

the number of persons comprising the crew of the vessel;

the number of passengers on board the vessel;

the port of destination of the vessel and the name of the vessel’s owner or, if the owner is not in Canada, the name of the vessel’s agent in Canada;

the condition of all persons on board the vessel and details of any death or illness occurring during the voyage;

whether the body of any person is being carried on the vessel;

the estimated time of arrival of the vessel at the port of destination; and

the date and place of issuance of any de-ratting certificate or de-ratting exemption certificate applicable to the vessel.

3.For the purposes of paragraph (1), the quarantine station for vessels bound for

quarantine stations in the province of British Columbia include: Vancouver and Victoria.

4.The person in charge of a vessel who wishes to change his port of destination after receiving instructions from the quarantine officer, shall notify him of such change and request new instructions.

Pilotage Messages

For detailed information on Notices to Obtain Pilot, Notices of Departure, Notices of Movage, Optional Notices and Required Information, please refer to Section 23 of the latest Annual Edition of Notices to Mariners, published by the Canadian Coast Guard, Marine Navigation Services.

Official Naval Messages

For detailed information on Naval Messages to Canadian and Commonwealth ships in Canadian areas, please refer to Section 39 of the latest Annual Edition of Notices to Mariners, published by the Canadian Coast Guard, Marine Navigation Services.