MCTS Sail Plan Service

Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centres provide a sail plan processing and alerting service. Mariners are encouraged to file Sail Plans with a responsible person. In circumstances where this is not possible, Sail Plans may be filed with any MCTS Centre by telephone or marine radio. Should a vessel on a Sail Plan fail to arrive at its destination as expected, procedures will be initiated which may escalate to a full search and rescue effort. Participation in this program is voluntary.

Filing a Sail Plan

To file a sail plan with the Canadian Coast Guard, contact the nearest Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) Centre by radio or telephone. Filing a sail plan by facsimile is not permitted. The Coast Guard MCTS Centre will require certain information about the vessel and the trip or voyage. An "Estimated Time of Arrival" (ETA) for your destination must be provided.

Sail Plan Information

When you contact the MCTS centre to file a sail plan the Marine Communications and Traffic Services Officer on duty will seek the following information:

• Vessel Name and Call Sign
• Number of people on board
• Departure Point
• Time of Departure
• Route & Stop-over Points
• Scheduled Position Reports (optional)
• Destination (include Marina name, telephone number if known)
• Estimated time of Arrival
• Method of Closing Sail Plan (VHF, telephone)
• Vessel Owner information - name, address, telephone number
• Vessel information - type, size, description, communication equipment...
• Safety equipment on board - type & number of flares, lifejackets, other safety equipment
• Any other relevant information

Position Reports

You are encouraged to provide regular position reports to enhance the alerting service provided by the Coast Guard. If you are laying over in one location for more than 1 day, daily position reports are not necessary provided you inform the MCTS Centre initially and again when you are underway. When possible, a position report should be filed with the Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre, approximately 45 minutes prior to your ETA at destination. This assists in determining a more accurate recent and known position should a search become necessary. If you have scheduled reporting times indicated in your sail plan, failure to report would initiate the same search procedures as failure to arrive at your destination.

Changes to your Sail Plan

Changes in the route, destination or ETA from your original sail plan must be provided to the MCTS Centre.

Closing your Sail Plan

Contact the nearest Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre, by radio or telephone, as soon as possible after completion of your voyage to "close" your sail plan. Avoid false alerts and unnecessary searches. The Rescue Coordination Centre will be contacted if you exceed your estimated time of arrival without notifying the MCTS Centre.

To file or close a sail plan contact the following MCTS Centres by radio or telephone:

Inuvik MCTS - (867) 777-2667

Iqaluit MCTS - (867) 979-5269

Prescott MCTS - (613) 925-4471

Sarnia MCTS - (519) 336-4003

Thunder Bay MCTS - (807) 345-5190