Proposals 2003-2004

• Cruise Ship Activity and Risk Analysis for Improved SAR Response Planning
• Location-Based Risk Analysis of Recreational Boating Activity
• Personal Emergency Locator Device
• Safe Catch
• SAR Access to Vessel Monitoring Information
• SLDMB Project Phase 2: Deployment Strategy
• Finding Your Way – A Guide to Nautical Charts for Youth
• Bobbie the Safety Boat Program
• Remote Sensing Shoreline for Northern Labrador
• Translation of St. John Ambulance Medical First Responder Instructor Guide
• Coherent UHF Radar for Life Raft Detection, Phase II

Cruise Ship Activity and Risk Analysis for Improved SAR Response Planning

The Canadian Coast Guard has noted a number of changes and trends in the cruise ship industry across Canada. In fact, there have been serious occurrences that might have resulted in a significant loss of lives in North America in recent years. The number of cruise ships arriving in Canada and the number of people on board are growing at a very high rate, and this exposure is compounded by their forays into increasingly remote locations. The purpose of this project is to clearly identify trends in cruise ship activity levels and locations in Canada to produce a risk analysis. Knowledge of the risk levels by location and other factors would assist with better SAR resource allocation, contingency planning, and prevention or mitigation measures.

Components of the project include:

• data acquisition and cleaning
• trip generation and geographic display
• identification of risk factors
• development of the risk model with analyses of exposure measures, and factors affecting the likelihood and consequences of incidents - especially those particular to Canadian waters and environment
• review of all industry practices and governing regimes affecting the safety of ships
• the effect of projected trends on activity and risk distribution
• measures of effectiveness for SAR planning in this context.

All results will be published, and the rights to any software developed in the course of this project will rest with the principal investigator. The sponsor will have unlimited use of the software and associated databases within its organization. Reports, and any software tools delivered to the sponsor, will be in both official languages, as the scope of this project is national.

Location-Based Analysis of Recreational Boating Activity

Recreational boating accidents account for many of the SAR incidents annually. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has identified a need to know more about the patterns of recreational boating in Canada (frequency, duration, location, type of activity, etc.) to aid with targeting prevention programmes, and assist with SAR planning. Although several studies have investigated factors associated with recreational boating (demographics, PFD use, alcohol consumption, etc.), two main factors that would help decision-making are missing: spatial & temporal distribution of boating activities; and incident rate by level of exposure and type of activity. This project will address these issues through data collection and analysis, and GIS (geographic information system) and risk modelling. This will complement existing studies on recreational boaters' behaviour (bottom-up analysis) by linking it with this top-down approach based on incident rates.

All results will be published, and the rights to any software developed in the course of this project will rest with the principal investigator. Reports, and any software tools delivered to the sponsor will be in both official languages, as the scope of this project is national.

Personal Emergency Location Device

The objective of this project is to develop an inexpensive, compact and lightweight personal emergency distress beacon for search and rescue purposes. Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue officials have identified the need for this device in the commercial and recreational inshore fishery. There are a variety of personal emergency beacons available off-the-shelf that are designed for marine search and rescue, including various configurations of EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon). However, the devices that have the required functionality have a per-unit cost of $1000 or higher and consequently are priced too high for widespread use as a personal distress system. The devices that are in the range of several hundred dollars are suitably priced, however, they generally do not have the required functionality for the inshore fishery.

In addition to the price barrier, the devices currently on the market are generally the size of a normal VHF radio system or larger and are more suited to fit in a pocket rather than work directly on clothing. Personnel involved in both the insure fishery and coast guard search and rescue have indicated that wearable tag-like emergency locator device is more desirable and could be more widely accepted by the fishing industry because its use would not hinder normal activities on a small boat or vessel. Such a device would also be useful in a variety of other marine sectors, such as in the offshore fishery, marine transportation sector, offshore oil production and exploration industry, and inshore/freshwater recreational boating sector.

Safe Catch

Safe Catch is one project in the SafetyNet Community Alliance for Health Research. Funded primarily by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), SafetyNet is the first major research program investigating occupational health and safety in Atlantic Canadian marine, coastal and offshore industries. Safe Catch is conducting research on fishing vessel safety and the occupational heath and safety (OHS) of fish harvesters.

Fishing is the most dangerous occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador and is increasingly so: over the past ten years, the rates of reported injuries and fatalities and SAR incidents are straining the ability of SAR to deliver effective, efficient and economic services, and undermining the economic viability of the fishery, and increasingly health care and compensation costs.

The prevention of fatalities, and prevention and mitigation of injuries and SAR incidents, have been seriously hindered by limited research on the full range of factors that potentially influence fishing vessel safety and fish harvester OHS. As noted by SAR Newfoundland, prevention and mitigation would particularly benefit from an interdisciplinary research program design that is conducted in partnership with all of the relevant stakeholders from industry, government and labour. Such a program must also include a significant knowledge translation component to ensure that research findings inform education, training, fishing practices, vessel design, policy and regulatory requirements.

Safe Catch is a multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral research initiative that incorporates a substantial knowledge translation component. The initiative adopts a comprehensive approach to investigate the factors that influence fishing safety through six linked subcomponents. Five of the six components share a primary objective to produce results that will reduce the number and severity of fish harvester injuries, fatalities and SAR incidents:

Fishing Vessel Safety Longitudinal Analysis (FVSLA): An longitudinal analysis (1989-2001) that will use a new comprehensive, inter-departmental linked database to identify and interpret the factors that influence the rates of injuries, fatalities and SAR incidents.

Firsthand Perceptions of the Causes of Accidents and Near-Misses (FPCAN): An interview-based study conducted with fish harvesters, on their perceptions of the causes of accidents and near-misses and their suggested solutions.

Safety Fishing Vessel Seakeeping (SFVS): A study to collect sea-trial data to complete and validate a computer model for predicting the impact of vessel design and fishing practices on seakeeping characteristics ad fish harvester occupational safety.

Delayed Return to Work (DRW): An interview-based study on the psychological and social factors that delay previously injured fish harvesters from returning to work (not applicable or relevant to this grant).

Community Healthy Fishery Program (CHFP): The development of an interactive, community-based OHS and fishing vessel safety education program for fish harvesters;

Comparative Analysis of Regulatory Regimes (CARR): A comparative analysis of fishing accidents, and fishery regulatory regimes and management practices in Canada and six other countries.

Relevant results from each subcomponent will inform the research design and interpretation of results from others. Several of the project components will yield results of direct relevance to SAR in relation to the planning, development and implementation of programs and services. Working in collaboration with our partners and with other relevant stakeholders, we will develop a series of recommendations to promote safety in the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition, the research should both inform and promote the development of effective inter-sectoral collaboration to reduce accidents and SAR incidents in the fishing industry.

SAR Access to Vessel Monitoring Information

In ongoing efforts of operational modernization, the Fisheries Management Branch (Fisheries & Oceans) has undertaken a two-year project for the deployment of cost-effective automatic location and communication (ALC) devices onboard fishing vessels that will provide near real-time information on vessel activity for enhanced resource management. On completion there will be vessels automatically reporting their position on an hourly basis and this information stored internally within Fisheries & Oceans. This is a vital source of information that can be utilized by SAR in its efforts in coordinating vessel deployment in response to distress calls.

Many of the vessels in the Coast Guard Auxiliary are commercial fishing vessels and they play a vital role in SAR efforts in saving lives. The time it takes to know the location of these auxiliary vessels in a distress call situation is vital. The purpose of this proposal is to have NIF cost share the development of a query and display mechanism (QDM) that will provide SAR direct access to fishing vessel locations.

As part of the cost breakdown the funding being requested from NIF is for FY 03/04 which includes a completely finished and functional QDM component and all fishing vessels > 35’ reporting their positions. The core funding adding vessels (>35’) is a cost covered by the fishing industry and not the department.

SLDMB Project Phase 2: Deployment Strategy

Phase I developed Ocean Current Mapping Software (OCMS) that predicts an ocean current field from the information supplied from multiple SLDMBs configured as a Person In the Water (PIW). The software was tested using data sets from the Cabot Strait and the Scotia Shelf with satisfactory results. Using the newly developed OCMS, we must explore through trials and statistical analysis, deployment strategies when using SLDMBs in a search. Many factors come into play such as wind, depth of water, wave height, etc. The use of SLDMBs to generate surface current is new. We must learn how we should deploy them in number and pattern.

Phase II of the project will use the OCMS and tracing particle software to help develop a deployment strategy. The deployment strategy guidelines will be made available to RCC coordinators and the output of the OCMS and tracing particle software will be integrated onto the CANSARP desktop.

One of the objectives of this research is to incorporate the new SLDMB models into the CANSARP workstation with the goal of improving the likelihood of saving lives through better predictions of the drift of SAR objects. By providing a more accurate search tool, reducing search area and time, this proposal will address the NSP objective to perform all SAR functions effectively, efficiently and economically. Accurate current calculation plays a vital role in responses to incidents involving capsized or drifting small crafts. This category representing the highest fatality rate in Maritime SAR.

The Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard College seek to continually improve the utility of tools like CANSARP and other SAR tools in the interest of improving Canadian Maritime Search And Rescue.

Finding Your Way - A guide to Nautical Charts for Youth

The Canadian Hydrographic Service of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is the federal agency responsible for the provision of nautical charts and related publications of our navigable waters for safe navigation.

Available statistics demonstrate that roughly two-thirds of al Maritime SAR incidents involve Pleasure Craft (CCG SAR Annual Reports). In 2001, navigational error was stated as the primary cause of the SAR incidents involving pleasure craft in 466 of 4,389 occasions. FINDING YOUR WAY will be a booklet targeted to students of ages 9-13 living near our waterways as an initiation to the importance of early education in marine safety. This guide will explain the necessity of using official Canadian charts for navigation to avoid costly errors that could place lives in danger and a costly SAR mission. It will explain the history of chart making from the early explorers to modern day techniques, an explanation of features shown on a chart, how to read a chart, an introduction to other agencies involved in the administration and deliver of marine safety (ex. Canadian Coast Guard, Canadian Power and Sail Squadron, etc), and practical exercises. The guide will demonstrate the importance of accredited training courses in Boating Safety and Navigation should this recreational activity wish to be pursued.

Distribution of FINDING YOUR WAY will be through the CHS Chart Dealer Network, school boards, internally to members and instructors of our associates, the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron and the Canadian Safe Boating Council, Sea Cadets, Scouts and Guides, and by CHS participation at Boat Shows across the country. Also, these will be placed in foyers of DFO buildings having Information Centres.

Based on the need for a compact and inexpensive emergency distress beacon, the work proposed here will investigate various options for the design and development of a distress beacon for use in the inshore fishery. The basic requirements for this device include the following:

• Small, lightweight and wearable/attachable to clothing,
• Inexpensive (in the order of several hundred dollars);
• Provide automated and manual triggering of distress event; and
• Provide notification of distress to Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue personnel in a timely manner.

Given the requirements that the device be inexpensive, it is expected (but not required) that the design will be compatible with existing Canadian Coast Guard communications infrastructure and will be prototyped with commercial-off-the-shelf components. The device may include such features as onboard GPS (Global Positioning System), VHF-DSC capabilities with AIS (Automated Intensification System) compliance, and a 406 MHz homing beacon (a less expensive, lighter weight version of COSPAS/SARSAT EPIRBs).

Bobbie the Safety Boat Program

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Pacific Region (CCGA-P) would like to develop and implement a SAR Prevention program that would target children and would involve teenagers and adults in the development and implementation stages. Based on similar successful programs, the Bobbie the Safety Boat program would primarily promote the NSP objective of prevention or mitigation of SAR events (through a dynamic water safety education program for children) while assisting the CCGA-P with volunteer recruitment, retention, and training, particularly of much needed younger members (ages 16-24).

CCGA-P staff members and volunteers would develop a procedures manual (modelled largely on the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary’s procedures manual) that would focus on effective strategies for delivering the SAR prevention message to children in tandem with existing and proposed Transport Canada regulations. Members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary experienced in the operations of the robot would hold a training workshop for CCGA-P members and participate in the filming of a training video for distribution to all interested CCGA-P members.

The CCGA-P would also develop promotional material, such as Bobbie certificates and trading cards, as support for the presenters and a permanent SAR prevention for target audiences at schools, hospitals, boat shows, and where requested throughout the Pacific Region. Two of the major objectives of the CCGA-P are reduction in the number and severity of SAR incidents and the promotion of marine safety. As federal agencies continue to reduce funding for their own SAR prevention activities, it is crucial that the CCGA-P continue to focus on their SAR prevention objectives. The Bobbie program will enable Coast Guard existing CCGA-P and new volunteers to efficiently and effectively deliver the SAR prevention message to young audiences.

Bobbie Trailer

Remote Sensing Shoreline for Northern Labrador

Canadian charts have a serious lack of up-to-date coastal information on the Labrador Coast, especially from Nain, north to the Button Islands. Many rocks and islands are not identified and many others are not properly positioned; major features such as fiords do not have good shorelines. This situation is hazardous to mariners and those who are called to assist in an emergency. The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) is responsible for charting Canadian waters, but priorities dictate that this area will receive little attention in the foreseeable future. This proposal will allow CHS to provide information to improve SAR capability and reduce the risk to mariners and the environment.

A shoreline database consisting of provisional paper charts will be created using Remote Sensing technology in the Northern Labrador area. These products will be available for use in Search and Rescue activities. Mariners will be able to use the products to enhance navigational safety and therefore prevent incidents necessitating SAR. These provisional paper charts will allow accurate positioning using GPS, radar or pilotage techniques. Advances in Satellite Remote Sensing technology allow the collection of shoreline data in remote areas that traditionally were inaccessible.

With the Voisey's Bay project underway, commercial and recreational traffic will increase in Northern Labrador. The mountainous regions and deep fiords along this coast attract cruise lines interested in tourism. The shoreline on Canadian charts in these areas was collected in the 1800s and represent a danger to Search and Rescue operations using modern Global Positioning Systems with the existing portfolio of paper charts. Most areas are either not surveyed or not surveyed to modern standards. Information on the current state of charts for SAR in Labrador is included in the publications: Requirement for Coast Guard Services Along the Labrador Coast, May 1998; the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's Report M95N0053, Striking and Sinking of the Tug Sea Alert near Nain, Labrador, 1995; and the Labrador Seaway Initiative Proposal, Safety and Development.

This proposal addresses immediate concerns and is not dependent on a long-term systematic and expensive solutions involving the survey of corridors for shipping to produce new nautical charts. The success of this project would also support a similar approach for Arctic waters that have the same inherent problems as the Labrador Coast.

The linear distance along the coastline from the Button Islands to the area where accurate charting begins, just north of Nain, is 268 nautical miles. The fiords greatly increase the coastline to be covered. The mountains and ice in the Northern Labrador area provide unique challenges for remote sensing systems collecting shoreline. Data from remote sensing platforms including IKONOS (high resolution satellite imagery) and RadarSat ("Synthetic Aperture Radar" earth observation satellite) will be purchased to create high resolution precise shoreline. Preliminary investigation indicates that RadarSat I can be used in most areas and this will contain the overall cost of the project.

The data will be owned by the National SAR Secretariat and will be made available to CHS for the production of products and provision of services.

Translation of St. John Ambulance Medical First Responder Instructor Guide

Translation of new Medical First Responder Instructor Guide for use by Coast Guard Rescue Specialists, volunteer firefighters, police departments and others involved in search and rescue missions. Department of National Defense (DND) is also interested in this program for Reserve Medical Corps (who aid in search and rescue operations), Military Police and DND Firefighters.

The program meets Paramedic Association of Canada's Emergency Medical Responder guidelines and as such will prove beneficial for ground Search and Rescue personnel, volunteer fire departments and Coast Guard Auxiliary. Coast Guard and DND have indicated that they wish to provide training to their members that will be recognized in the civilian field. A program that is in line with the Paramedic Association's guidelines will help meet this need. St. John has absorbed the development costs of this Guide ($45,000) and is providing the material free of charge to Coast Guard and DND. As well, there is currently a distinct lack of up-to-date bilingual material of this nature.

This project compliments the objectives of the NSP: the medical and first aid training provided will help save lives, and the injury prevention components contained in the material will help mitigate morbidity and mortalilty and will help ensure a standard of training throughout the country. These objectives are in line with Coast Guard Rescue Specialist missions and other Search and Rescue personnel.

Coherent UHF Radar for Life Raft Detection - Phase II

The safety of life at sea and the efficiency of marine search and rescue (SAR) operations could be substantially enhanced by increasing the ability of radars to detect small targets, particularly in higher sea states (< 5m). Numerous discussions with personnel involved in marine SAR have confirmed that improving the capability of radar systems to detect small targets such as life rafts and other craft would be a notable asset. Similar conclusions on technological limitations have been drawn by those involved in coastal surveillance for regulations enforcement and narcotics interdiction.

The project proposed here addresses this need by improving on the inherent limitation of existing marine radar systems to detect targets with a radar cross section on the order of 1 m² or less. Such targets include life rafts, lifeboats, various other small vessels, and small ice pieces (bergy bits and growlers). This limitation is particularly severe in high sea states where the return from these targets is further "buried" in ocean clutter.

Improvements in this area will allow search and rescue operations to be conducted more efficiently by potentially reducing the time required to locate life raft and distressed personnel in the water during heavy seas. This will provide the ancillary benefit of reducing the total SAR incident time (which averaged over 16 hours in 2001), thus providing costs savings on available resources.

To address the needs described above, it is proposed that development be continued on a coherent UHF radar prototype, specifically for small target detection. The prototype has been shown to offer several advantages over conventional microwave radars including:

• ocean clutter (radar echoes from the ocean surface) has been shown to be substantially reduced when operating at UHF frequencies (300-1000 MHz) compared to either HF (3-30 MHz) or microwave (>3GHz) frequencies; and
• coherent operation will allow for the processing of multiple radar returns to allow for enhanced target detection.

Target detection probability will be substantially increased using a coherent radars where multiple received signals can be averaged to reduce clutter and the exact signature of the transmitted signal is known and will be used to further enhance processing of the received signal. The increase in detection probability is expected to be even better than that of incoherent systems that employ scan-to-scan averaging to reduce clutter.

The current UHF radar prototype was developed as a low power proof-of-concept radar. Since this proof of concept was completed (in 1999 with $126K of NIF funds), C-CORE has raised an additional $380K for this project to cover field work in NF and Alaska, and to take the proof of concept prototype to the Alpha prototype stage.

The additional development proposed here will allow for the development of a beta prototype with high power operation, equivalent to the best available microwave systems. In addition, innovative antenna technologies will be explored to allow for more practical ship and shore based radar installations. The prototype will then be operated alongside standard X, and S-band microwave radars to determine improved performance.