Canadian Coast Guard Information Kit

Pacific Region

Coverage

Pacific Region consists of more than 27,000 km of British Columbia coastline, and includes the Yukon Territory and 560,000 km2 of ocean. Weather can vary dramatically across the British Columbia coast, known internationally as one of the world’s wildest coastlines.

The mouth of Juan de Fuca has been called the Graveyard of the Pacific – a testament to some of the harsh and varying weather conditions that Pacific Region encounters along its rugged coastline.

This broad area is patrolled by a fleet of 14 vessels, two hovercraft, 16 search and rescue lifeboats and five helicopters. Pacific Region’s staff includes more than 1,000 dedicated employees who work diligently to provide Coast Guard services to the Canadian public and the maritime industry.

Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS)

Pacific Region has five MCTS centres covering the entire coast. These centres are located in Vancouver, Victoria, Prince Rupert, Comox and Tofino, British Columbia. With nearly half a million vessel movements per year, the MCTS centres monitor more volume than all the other regions combined, accounting for more than 70% of the marine traffic in Canada.

Aids to Navigation

Pacific Region has over 1,800 aids to navigation. The majority of the fixed aids are in remote areas of British Columbia and the Yukon. Pacific Region has more lighted aids in higher latitudes, which means its solar systems must be designed to work through the long dark winters.

There are 27 staffed lightstations and five de-staffed lightstations in the region, as well as 17 former de-staffed lightstations downgraded to major shore light status.

Waterways Management Services

Port Metro Vancouver, the largest port in Canada, is located in Pacific Region. It ranks #1 in Canada in total cargo handled and total container through-put and #1 in North America in total foreign exports.

As it is the most diversified port in North America, the Waterways Management Program in Pacific Region works with other government departments, port authorities and river pilots to ensure that ship channel design, maintenance and usage is safe, efficient and environmentally responsible.

Environmental Response Services (ER)

Of the 710 pollution incidents reported in 2007, Coast Guard Environmental Response responded to 209 oil pollution incidents. A pipeline is being built from the Alberta Tar Sands to Kitimat, with completion forecast in 2010, resulting in the annual shipment of crude expected to increase from approximately four million tons at present to 20 million tons upon completion.

Search and Rescue (SAR)

Pacific Region’s 12 Coast Guard stations operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In an average year, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria responds to 2,161 maritime SAR cases. Of these, 17% are classified as distress or potential distress incidents in which, on average, 1,398 lives are saved.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary in Pacific Region has 1,060 volunteer members committed to serving one of 50 community-based stations throughout the region. Collectively, 76 vessels are available through this organization for marine search and rescue as needed.