Pesan Hotel - There are any number of views on the merits of a "mega-yacht" facility being built on the north shore of Victoria's harbour. As a director of Victoria Harbour Ferry Co., I feel compelled to once again voice my concerns with respect to the compromised safety of air and marine operations in the harbour should the project proceed.
Cara Booking Penginapan - Our business makes more than 95,000 trips, in excess of 60,000 kilometres, all within harbour waters, in a single season. Over the past 20 years, we have worked very closely with Transport Canada, NavCan and air operators on a regular basis toward ensuring that marine and air operations are conducted within the highest possible safety standards.
All of this is to say that there is arguably no other operator on the waters of Victoria harbour more qualified to put forward an objective assessment of the negative impact on the safety of operations in the harbour of a large marina development on the north shore of the harbour.
Our business would profit directly by the establishment of a marina complex on the north shore. Our volume of passengers would increase and our bottom line would reflect the advantages of a new harbour ferry stop. We have no hesitation in setting aside that bottom-line benefit in favour of keeping our harbour safe for marine and air operations.
Twenty years of operations by our company in the harbour allow me to say without hesitation that the development will seriously compromise the safety of air and marine operations. Once built, it will forever present a series of risks. The shoreline cannot be moved and the waterway cannot be expanded. The chokehold on the harbour will only become tighter as more and more marine and air traffic uses the harbour.
The following are some of my safety concerns:
- Victoria Harbour Ferries will pick up and drop off passengers at a location that will be within mere metres of the entrance to the mega marina -- within metres of large vessels going astern to back out of their moorage. The wash alone from one of these large vessels will compromise the safety of loading and unloading passengers, as well as the safety of non-powered vessels passing to our stern.
- Having been a vessel operator for more than 30 years, including a significant period of service on board RCMP coastal vessels while a member of the force, I can state with certainty that not all large pleasure vessels are professionally crewed. Many consist only of the owner and a spouse or partner, often far from competent, trained mariners.
- At any given time, there may be as many as a half dozen aircraft landing or taking off.
- The Victoria harbour is a popular place for experienced and inexperienced kayakers, and depending on the day, there could be dozens traversing those waters.
- There will be several whale-watching tour operators operating within the harbour, using high-speed Zodiac vessels, carrying dozens of passengers on each trip.
- The harbour is traversed during the day by many pleasure craft, motor and sail, who enter and exit the harbour frequently.
Add to these activities the passage of mega-yachts and you have a recipe for disaster.
I acknowledge that some individual operators have said they will be guided by Transport Canada's ruling on whether the development will proceed. I would respectfully suggest that not one of those operators truly believes the project will be approved.
I am of the opinion that more than one of them have serious concerns, but will defer to Transport Canada for the final assessment. I think if they thought Transport Canada approval was imminent, they would take advantage of a last-minute opportunity to restate their position -- which would not be neutral.
I challenge any suggestion that the proposed development will have no impact on the safety of air and marine operations, and I hope that all concerned will look carefully at the safety risks, not only from the often narrow regulatory compliance for safety, but from the risk-assessment reality of those who work with those regulations as part of their livelihood.
Cara Booking Penginapan - Our business makes more than 95,000 trips, in excess of 60,000 kilometres, all within harbour waters, in a single season. Over the past 20 years, we have worked very closely with Transport Canada, NavCan and air operators on a regular basis toward ensuring that marine and air operations are conducted within the highest possible safety standards.
All of this is to say that there is arguably no other operator on the waters of Victoria harbour more qualified to put forward an objective assessment of the negative impact on the safety of operations in the harbour of a large marina development on the north shore of the harbour.
Our business would profit directly by the establishment of a marina complex on the north shore. Our volume of passengers would increase and our bottom line would reflect the advantages of a new harbour ferry stop. We have no hesitation in setting aside that bottom-line benefit in favour of keeping our harbour safe for marine and air operations.
Twenty years of operations by our company in the harbour allow me to say without hesitation that the development will seriously compromise the safety of air and marine operations. Once built, it will forever present a series of risks. The shoreline cannot be moved and the waterway cannot be expanded. The chokehold on the harbour will only become tighter as more and more marine and air traffic uses the harbour.
The following are some of my safety concerns:
- Victoria Harbour Ferries will pick up and drop off passengers at a location that will be within mere metres of the entrance to the mega marina -- within metres of large vessels going astern to back out of their moorage. The wash alone from one of these large vessels will compromise the safety of loading and unloading passengers, as well as the safety of non-powered vessels passing to our stern.
- Having been a vessel operator for more than 30 years, including a significant period of service on board RCMP coastal vessels while a member of the force, I can state with certainty that not all large pleasure vessels are professionally crewed. Many consist only of the owner and a spouse or partner, often far from competent, trained mariners.
- At any given time, there may be as many as a half dozen aircraft landing or taking off.
- The Victoria harbour is a popular place for experienced and inexperienced kayakers, and depending on the day, there could be dozens traversing those waters.
- There will be several whale-watching tour operators operating within the harbour, using high-speed Zodiac vessels, carrying dozens of passengers on each trip.
- The harbour is traversed during the day by many pleasure craft, motor and sail, who enter and exit the harbour frequently.
Add to these activities the passage of mega-yachts and you have a recipe for disaster.
I acknowledge that some individual operators have said they will be guided by Transport Canada's ruling on whether the development will proceed. I would respectfully suggest that not one of those operators truly believes the project will be approved.
I am of the opinion that more than one of them have serious concerns, but will defer to Transport Canada for the final assessment. I think if they thought Transport Canada approval was imminent, they would take advantage of a last-minute opportunity to restate their position -- which would not be neutral.
I challenge any suggestion that the proposed development will have no impact on the safety of air and marine operations, and I hope that all concerned will look carefully at the safety risks, not only from the often narrow regulatory compliance for safety, but from the risk-assessment reality of those who work with those regulations as part of their livelihood.
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