Short Sea Shipping Impacts Within Canada Perspective Transport Law and Policy

Short Sea Shipping Impacts within Canada Perspective

Transport Law and Policy

Course No: CTPT 207

Professor: Dr. Zave Kaufman

MohammadHossein Kolahchi, McGill University

Student number: 260730468

2,283 words

Table of Contents

Executive Summery 2

Introduction2

Short Sea Shipping Pros and Cons 3

Short Sea Shipping Socio-Economic Impacts 4

Short Sea Shipping Environmental Alleviation Impacts6

Short Sea Shipping Policy and Regulations 6

Conclusion7

Executive Summery

Short sea shipping has begun to receive attention from governments worldwide. Short sea shipping is a declared priority of the Federal Government, and it has confirmed the considerable importance of the analysis and promotion of this quite innovative form of transportation by its agreement to a trilateral NAFTA Memorandum of Cooperation, signed in July 2003.^[1]

Due to countless benefits in terms of reducing congestion and greenhouse reduction which lead to reducing social and environmental cost, short sea shipping can be considered as effective and efficient alternative mode for surface and railway modes. Since roadways in North America become increasingly congested, there is a growing push among policy makers, at all levels of government, to promote a greater use of waterways to optimize transportation networks. The potential for marine transportation to reduce pollution from the movement of freight, to minimize the need for maintenance and capacity expansion of surface transportation infrastructure further support the policy push to promote short sea shipping. This paper explores short sea shipping pros and cons from a Canadian perspective. It will be discussed the social and economic impacts and some regulatory limitations in Canada in order to implement and develop to further growth of short sea services in Canada.

Introduction

IMO should establish a common definition of Short Sea Shipping. Short Sea Shipping (short sea shipping) is defined as the commercial shipment of cargo or passengers by domestic and international maritime transport. In general, this subsector of marine transportation operates in coastal and inland waterways, does not cross an ocean and often competes with road and rail networks. ^[2]

North America has an extensive coastline, inland river systems and the largest freshwater lake system in the world however. Canada is a maritime nation with 2 million lakes and rivers covering 7.6% of the total land which makes it the world’s top fresh water system. Also, Canada has access to three oceans, the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is the world’s longest inland waterway system. Canada’s 300 commercial ports and harbors make the country a shipping nation. The 2006, marine freight traffic was 408.4 million tons, up 2% from 2005. Ferry services carry about 40 million passengers and close to 17 million vehicles in Canada annually. Thus marine transportation is an integral part of the Canada’s transport system. ^[3]