Icebreaking services fees

Icebreaking services fees allow the Canadian Coast Guard to recover some of the costs of providing icebreaking services to commercial ships.

Fee criteria

These fees apply to all commercial vessels with a gross tonnage of 200 or more that transit an ice zone during the ice season.

The fee applies:

even if there’s no ice at the beginning or end of the season
regardless of whether an icebreaker provides direct route assistance

The fee does not apply:

to vessel movements within port boundaries
to pleasure craft, fishing vessels or government vessels
if a vessel stops at a Canadian port to:
- bunker
- undertake emergency repairs
- respond to a medical emergency
- respond to a government department or agency request
- make an overnight stop required by the seasonal removal of lighted aids to navigation
before the start of the ice season or after it ends, regardless of the presence of ice
to transits made by tugs or pilot boats solely to support another self-propelled vessel
to a vessel operated by, or on behalf of, the Government of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
to any transit along a route where the only icebreaking services available are ice routing and information services

Current rates (December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025)

Required vessels pay a per-transit fee of $3,718.22.

Discounts for ice class certificates

Ice class certificates are assigned by a classification society or national authority. They indicate extra strengthening of a vessel’s hull and other arrangements that enable a ship to navigate sea ice. Depending on a vessel’s ice class, the icebreaking service fee is reduced by:

To receive this discount, vessel operators must submit a valid ice class certificate to the Marine Services Fees Billing Collection and Compliance office (MSFBCC).

Table: Ice classification by discounts

Classification Society	35 % discount (Level 1)	35 % discount (Level 2)	25 % discount	15 % discount
American Bureau of Shipping	A1 Ice Strengthening Class AA AMS A1 Ice Strengthening Class 1AA AMS Ice Class A0	A1 Ice Strengthening Class A AMS A1 Ice Strengthening 1A AMS Ice Class B0	A1 Ice Strengthening Class B AMS A1 Ice Strengthening Class 1B AMS Ice Class C0	A1 Ice Strengthening Class C AMS A1 Ice Strengthening Class 1C AMS Ice Class D0
Bureau Veritas	1 A 1 ICE A* 1 A 1 ICE 1A* 1 3/3 E glace 1-super 1 3/3 E Ice Class 1A Super Ice Class 1A Super	1 3/3 E glace 1 1 3/3 E Ice Class 1A Ice Class 1A	1 3/3 E glace II 1 3/3 E Ice Class 1B Ice Class 1B	1 3/3 E glace III 1 3/3 E Ice Class 1C Ice Class 1C
Det Norske Veritas (DNVL)	1 A 1 ICE A* 1 A 1 ICE 1A* Ice (1A) ICE-1A E4	1 A 1 ICE A 1 A 1 ICE 1A Ice (1A) ICE-1A E3	1 A 1 ICE B 1 A 1 ICE 1B Ice (1B) ICE-1B E2	1 A 1 ICE C 1 A 1 ICE 1C Ice (1C) ICE-1C E1
German- ischer Lloyd	100 A 4 E 4 MC	100 A 4 E 3 MC	100 A 4 E 2 MC	100 A 4 E 1 MC
Lloyd's Register of Shipping	100 A 1 Ice Class 1* LMC 100 A 1 Ice Class 1 A Super LMC Ice Class 1 AS FS (+)	100 A 1 Ice Class 1 LMC 100 A 1 Ice Class 1 A LMC Ice Class 1 A FS (+) Ice Class 1 A FS	100 A 1 Ice Class 2 LMC 100 A 1 Ice Class 1 B LMC Ice Class 1 B FS (+) Ice Class 1B FS	100 A 1 Ice Class 3 LMC 100 A 1 Ice Class 1 C LMC Ice Class 1 C FS (+) Ice Class 1 C FS
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai	NS MNS Class AA 1S NS* (Class 1A Super Ice Strengthening) MNS NS* Class AA IS MNS* NS (Class 1A Super Ice Strengthening)	NS* MNS* Class A 1S NS* (Class 1A Ice Strengthening)	NS* MNS* Class B 1S NS* (Class 1B Ice Strengthening) MNS*	NS* MNS* Class C 1S NS* (Class 1C Ice Strengthening)
Polski Rejestr Statkow	KM YLA KM YL L1A	*KM L1 L1	*KM L2 L2	*KM L3 L3
Russian Maritime Register of Shipping	*KM YΛA KM YΛ UL or LU5 or Arc5	*KM Λ1 L1 LU4 Arc4	*KMΛ2 L2 LU3 Ice 3	*KM Λ3 L3 LU2 Ice 2
Registro Italiano Navale / RINA Services	100A-1.1 RG 1* 100A-1.1 1AS Ice Class 1A Super	100A-1.1 RG 1 100A-1.1 1A Ice Class 1A	100A-1.1 RG 2 100A-1.1 1B Ice Class 1B	100A-1.1 RG 3 100A-1.1 1C Ice Class 1C
Registrul Naval Roman	RNR M G 60 CM O RNR M G 50 CM O	RNR M G 40 CM O	RNR M G 30 CM O	RNR M G 20 CM O
China Classification Society	Ice Class B1*	Ice Class B1	Ice Class B2	Ice Class B3
Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules	1A Super	1A	1B	1C
International Association of Classification Societies	PC1 to PC7	-	-	-
Korean Register of Shipping	1A Super	1A	1B	1C

Ice zones and seasons

“Ice zones” refer to those areas of Canada where CCG provides icebreaking services in support of commercial shipping. The “ice season” is the period of time during which CCG provides icebreaking services in each ice zone.

There are 3 ice zones in Canadian waters.

Map of areas Icebreaking services fee applies

Description of the map

Area 1

Area 1 covers the northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The ice season of area 1 is from January 15 to May 15.

Area 2

Area 2 covers all waters and estuaries of the:

Great Lakes
St. Lawrence River
Gulf of St. Lawrence

The ice season of area 2 is from December 21 to April 15.

Area 3

Area 3 covers Lake Ontario.

The ice season of area 3 is from December 21 to 24 and April 1 to 15.

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Date modified:: 2024-12-02

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