Transport Canada keeps a watchful eye over ships transiting waters under Canadian jurisdiction through its National Aerial Surveillance Program (NASP). It is the lead federal department responsible for preventing pollution from ships and the NASP is one method by which this is achieved. Internationally, aerial surveillance is widely adopted and considered to be the most effective method for the detection of oil spills. The presence of the NASP surveillance aircraft acts as a deterrent by discouraging illegal discharges of pollution at sea.

The new Dash 8 pollution surveillance aircraft is equipped with state-of-the-art aerial surveillance equipment that will increase TC's ability to detect marine polluters better than ever before.

The NASP is a national program managed from within Transport Canada's headquarters. Evidence gathered by the NASP crews is forwarded to the respective departmental and Environment Canada regional offices to enforce the provisions of Canadian legislation applicable to illegal discharges from ships.

Since assuming control of the NASP in December 2003, Transport Canada has been proactive in augmenting the effectiveness of the program. It has increased the frequency of pollution patrols and expanded patrols over areas not historically flown, such as the Arctic. Other initiatives include multi-tasking with other government departments to ensure each surveillance hour is as productive as possible, and upgrading its pollution surveillance equipment to ensure Canada exceeds the capability offered by many other countries tasked with preventing pollution from ships and protecting the marine environment. 

On December 1, 2006, Transport Canada commissioned its newly equipped Dash 8 pollution surveillance aircraft (based in Moncton, New Brunswick), which features state-of-the-art Maritime Surveillance System 6000 (MSS 6000) technology.  The addition of this new imagery equipment makes Canada a world leader in detecting marine polluters.  We are now able to detect polluters at night and under low cloud, as well as isolate very fine details on the sea surface. More importantly, however, this aircraft will act as a significant deterrent to would-be polluters as it becomes widely known that we are watching better than ever before.

To further strengthen the program, Transport Canada has acquired an identical capacity for use on Canada's West Coast and is anticipating that it will be operational with trained crews by fall 2007. With these recent improvements, the department is sending a strong message to the international maritime community that our marine environment is precious and valuable.

To supplement ongoing pollution surveillance flights, Transport Canada is also a partner in the Integrated Satellite Tracking of Polluter's (I-STOP) Project, which uses earth observation technology (Radarsat imagery) to look for oil-like signatures (anomalies) on the ocean's surface that could be indicative of an oil spill.

Through partnership with Environment Canada's Canadian Ice Service, we are creating a Marine Aerial Reconnaissance Team whose mission is to observe, analyze, record and report marine activity and environmental conditions affecting or being affected by the maritime community. It is our goal to be recognized as a world leader in aerial marine reconnaissance.

For more information on the NASP, please refer to Transport Canada's Media Room. To find out more on Transport Canada's new state-of-the-art Dash 8 pollution surveillance aircraft, please select this link.