Canadian Coast Guard Information Kit

Québec Region

Coverage

The area of the Québec Region includes the river, the estuary and a large section of the St. Lawrence Seaway, including coastal waters of Magdalen Islands and the northern part of Québec to the south of 60°N, which means 6,000 kilometers of coasts.

The St. Lawrence River is a complex navigation course owing to its narrow and sinuous channel and to its restricted depth of water. In addition to being the object of huge tides, sometimes-capricious currents and weather conditions that make shipping difficult, this channel is covered with ice between December and April.

Since four of the main Canadian harbours are located in the Québec Region (Montréal, Québec, Port-Cartier, Sept-Îles), the marine activity has suffered a major increase, namely owing to:

• the increased size and number of ships using the St. Lawrence;
• the increased volume of merchandise handled by Québec ports, which went from 68 million tons in 2001 to 118 million tons in 2007;
• the large number of terminal construction and port expansion projects planned or under progress;
• the 32% increase in the number of cruise companies that came to Québec in 2008 compared to 2007.

Throughout the years, the 750 professional and dedicated employees of the Québec Region, including seagoing personnel, have improved their qualifications and built on innovation in order to meet these many challenges. Commercial and pleasure boaters, fishermen and the general public have access to strategic information regarding shipping conditions on the MARINFO Internet portal.

The region has two primary operational bases in Québec City and Sorel, as well as an air cushion vehicle base in Trois-Rivières. In addition, it owns a fleet of 18 ships, two air cushion vehicles, six helicopters and six seasonal rescue boats.

Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS)

MCTS provides services from four centers located in Montréal, Québec City, Les Escoumins and Rivière-au-Renard. By acting all year long as first responders for ships, marine communication and traffic officers are an essential link to ensure safety and protect human lives at sea. In addition, the arrival of larger ships in the St. Lawrence River means new challenges for these officers, who guarantee efficient marine traffic in addition to guarding the environment while ensuring the strict management of 100,000 ship movements each year.

Aids to Navigation

Buoying operations include the yearly installation and removal of close to 1,200 summer and winter buoys, the maintenance of some 575 fixed and electronic aids on our coasts, as well as the operation of four satellite global positioning stations in differential mode (DGPS). The region also operates 24 operational and entirely automated lighthouses.

In addition to the St. Lawrence River, the Québec Region is also responsible for buoys on the Saguenay, Richelieu, Ottawa and des Prairies rivers, as well as the Saint-Louis and Deux-Montagnes lakes.

Management of Waterways

Thanks to its waterways management and maintenance department, the Québec Region ensures that dredging operations provide a safe water depth for shipping, especially in the 240 kilometers of the dredged channel section of the St. Lawrence.

Environmental Response Services (ER)

Over 15 million tons of chemicals and petroleum products have been handled in ports of the Québec Region in 2005. Some 150 to 200 marine incidents threatening the environment are reported each year. Since 70% of the Québec population is living on the shores of the St. Lawrence, which provides drinking water to nearly 50% of them, public health, the environment and socio-economic activities may be affected should an oil spill occur. This is why the region engages and trains stakeholders in case of marine pollution.

Icebreaking Services

The Québec Region provides icebreaking and escort services in the area located between Montréal and the Belle Isle and Cabot straits. In the St. Lawrence estuary and gulf, main activities consist in assigning ice roads and in escorting commercial ships in difficulty. On the St. Lawrence River, main activities include flood and jam prevention, monitoring of ice conditions; ice map production using helicopter patrols, video and satellite remote monitoring.

Search and Rescue (SAR)

With the help of five rescue stations and six seasonal boats personnel, the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre Québec ensures year after year the coordination of 1,200 search and rescue operations, thus saving 330 lives. The Coast Guard Auxiliary, which is made up of 650 volunteers and 160 boats, performs 30% of search and rescue operations.