. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/CAN/188 
20 December 2006 
 (06-6098) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   CANADA  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:   Department of Transport 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:    
Canadian Enquiry Point  
200-270 Albert Street Ottawa, Ontario Canada 
K1P 6N7  
Tel.: (+1) 613 238 3222 Fax.: (+1) 613 569 7808 E-mail: info@scc.ca  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [ X ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):   Vessels (ICS:  47.040) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Proposed Load Line 
Regulations (32 pages, available in English and French). 
6. Description of content:   Load lines located on each side of  a vessel amidships indicate the 
deepest that a ship can submer ge into the water as a result of the loading of passengers, 
cargo, fuel, stores or other material on board. There are different load lines for different 
seasons of the year, areas of operation and densities of water. 
 The actual placement of these lines is dependent on numerous factors relating to the geometry of the vessel. As well, since the load  line placement assumes that the vessel will 
have a certain stability when fully loaded, certain conditions must be fulfilled in the 
construction and design of the vessel—water s hould not accumulate on deck in bad weather, 
openings to below deck must be watertight or weathertight, and so on. 
 Load line requirements have existed for a very  long time and can be regarded as well settled 
technically. They are necessary to public safety in marine transport.  G/TBT/N/CAN/188 
Page 2  
 
  The proposed Regulations would consist of three parts. 
 Part 1, Circle Load Lines, would pertain to vessels engaged on international voyages and 
vessels not exclusively operating in Canadian inland waters, including the Great Lakes. This Part would replace the General Load Line Rules  and the Load Line Regulations (Sea) . 
 
Part 2, Diamond Load Lines, would concern vessels operating exclusively in Canadian 
inland waters, including the Great Lakes. This Part would replace the Load Line Rules for 
Lakes and Rivers  and the Load Line Regulations (Inland) . 
 
Part 3 would repeal the existing regul ations concerning load lines under the Canada 
Shipping Act . 
 Circle Load Lines would incorporate, by reference, the International Maritime 
Organization's (IMO) International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (the Convention) and 
the 1988 Protocol relating to the Convention,  as amended effective January 1, 2005 (the 
Protocol). Canada has adopted the Convention,  and the proposed Regulations would bring 
Canadian requirements in line with the IMO's most recent amendments. 
Note: The above is being notified to Members for transparency purposes only. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of human safety 
8. Relevant documents:   Canada Gazette, Part I, 9 December 2006, Pages 4170-4201 
(Available in English and French) 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:   }Not stated 
10. Final date for comments:   8 January 2007 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:   
The electronic version of the regulatory text can be downloaded at:  
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/ partI/2006/20061209/pdf/g1-14049.pdf