Vancouver Island Mooring Buoys

[Passage50]

Vancouver Island:

The Bay I would like to Moore my Boat in has numerous Mooring Buoys and almost no more room to set another one with enough swing room.

Several liveonboarders in this Bay "own" 3 or 4 of these Mooring Buoys and rent them out to others for cash by the month, I doubt they pay taxes on this Busines venture.

What are the legalities of doing so. How many Mooring Buoys can a single person own in the same Bay and prevent others from using the space.

Thank you all for your input-------Cheers

[Maggie-K]

There are no rules. ,This is the reply I got from Transport Canada and who to contact with your concerns, The more complaints the better . Most of the people with mooring balls littering anchorages are not "liveaboards". With any hope we will soon see the end of this problem.

Subject: RE: Mooring balls for sale or rent
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:54:07 -0500
From: bob.gowe@tc.gc.ca
To: phillip.murdock@tc.gc.ca
CC: john.mackie@tc.gc.ca

This is not illegal per sé but we will be contacting the fellow to advise the buoys do not conform strictly to the Private buoy regulations or the current TC policy on placement of mooring buoys for private use and that we will be identifying areas where mooring buoys are restricted and conducting an enforcement program in Tsehum hbr. (as well as other problem areas) this spring. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

• Bob Gowe
  Manager/Gestionnaire
  Navigable Waters Protection/ Protection des eaux navigables
  Transport Canada/Transports Canada
  Ste 820-800 Burrard Street/800, rue Burrard, bureau 820
  Vancouver, BC V6Z 2J8 / Vancouver, (C.-B.) V6Z 2J8
  Telephone / Téléphone: (604) 775-8866
  Fax / Télécopieur: (604) 775-8828
  E-mail / Courriel: bob.gowe@tc.gc.ca
  Application Guide - Navigable Waters Protection Program - Operations & Environment - Marine Safety - Marine Transportation - Transport Canada

[tager]

That's annoying, but they do own the moorings. I would just install your own right next to theirs. It would be bad seamanship for anyone to hook up to a mooring with a circle overlapping yours. If your boat is there when they show up!

[Passage50]

Thank you for your replys. It is unfortunate that we have to ask for more regulations and enforcement but there almost seems no way arround that anymore.

Cheers

[prodiverr]

under the rules and regulations they only are allowed 1 private under Annex A, if they have anymore then one, then they don't qualify for annex A, and have to follow the regulations for Annex B, which is the have to file and register thier application for approval. Which they won't prove, as they don't want that. Is the person Native, because if they are, then a different set of rules apply.

Here are the rules....

2 Purpose
2.1 As determined by MSMS Tier I Policy concerning the management of the Private Buoy Regulations, mooring buoys are a work under the provisions of the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA).

2.2 The purpose of this procedure is to provide guidance to proponents in determining when applications for approval of the placement of a single mooring buoy under the provisions of the NWPA are not required to be submitted to the Navigable Waters Protection Program (NWPP).

3 Authority

3.1 This policy results from the exercise of ministerial discretion in the administration of the NWPA.

4 Background

4.1 Many mooring buoys, under reasonable circumstances, pose no impediment to vessel passage, or are not considered to be a hazard or obstruction to navigation.

4.2 Mooring buoys serve the purpose to ‘park’ a vessel similar to a dock, pier or wharf. A mooring buoy does not aid or inform the mariner, as is the purpose with an aid to navigation.

4.3 The development of a national procedure addressing the placement of mooring buoys under ideal conditions shall provide a greater consistency in the application of the NWPA and shall provide clients with a more certain working environment.

4.4 The establishment of criteria whereby single mooring buoys may be placed without the need for a review under the NWPA, will promote National consistency and manage workloads by reviewing only those mooring buoys not placed under predetermined criteria as set out in Annex “A”.

5 Scope

5.1 This policy applies to the placement of all mooring buoys in navigable waterways.

6 Responsibility

6.1 The Director, Operations & Environmental Programs is responsible for the development, approval and maintenance of this procedure.

6.2 The Regional Directors, Marine are responsible for implementation of this procedure.

6.3 The Manager, Navigable Waters Protection Program is the OPI for this procedure.

6.4 The Regional NWPP is responsible for the implementation and monitoring of this procedure.

7 Procedure

7.1 The placement of a single point mooring buoy by a proponent will not require the submission of an application for approval under the provisions of the NWPA subject to meeting the criteria specified in Annex “A”.

7.2 The placement of any mooring buoy(s) as identified in Annex “B” will require submission of an application for review under the provisions of the NWPA.

8 Related Documents

8.1 Navigable Waters Protection Act

8.2 MSMS Tier 1 Policy – Management of Private Buoy Regulations (RDIMS 4216665)

8.3 MSMS Tier I Policy – Minor Works (RDIMS 1581789)

8.4 An Owners’ Guide to Private Buoys (TP14799)

8.5 Collision Regulations

9 Definitions

9.1 Mooring Buoy – a buoy for securing a vessel or other similar thing

9.2 Swing - the limits of the diameter of a circle created by the swinging of a vessel

9.3 Navigable Waterway – any body of water, which is capable, in its natural state, of being navigated by floating vessels of any description for the purpose of transportation, recreation or commerce, and includes a canal or any other body of water created or altered for pubic use as a result of the construction of any work.

10 Date of Application

10.1 These procedures shall apply to all mooring buoys coming under the scope of the procedure that is published by Marine Safety after October 3, 2008.

11 Date for Review

11.1 This Policy subject to review twelve (12) months after initial issue, and at a frequency of not less than every three (3) years thereafter.

12 RDIMS Reference

12.1 The English version of this document is saved in RDIMS under reference number 4291778.

12.2 La version française du présent document est dans le SGDDI et porte le numéro de référence 4227508.

13 Keywords

Navigable Waters Protection Act
Private Buoy Regulations
Navigable Waterway
Mooring Buoy
Radius
ANNEX A
The placement of a single mooring buoy meeting the following criteria will not require further review by the Navigable Waters Protection Program and the project may proceed.

The mooring buoy must be:

Secured by a single anchor line,
Marked as per An Owners’ Guide to Private Buoys 8.4
The mooring buoy including swing area must be:

Placed no less than 20 meters from any existing docks, boathouses, swim platforms, other mooring buoy or other structure located within limits of waterway,
Placed at least 50 meters from any public launch ramp, marina, known navigation channel

AND:

Where free swinging moorings are utilized, they shall require a circular area having a radius equal to three (3) times the length of the vessel
Moored vessels must comply with the Collision Regulations.
Mooring Buoys that do no adhere to all of the above criteria shall not be placed without further review by the Navigable Waters Protection Program.

ANNEX B
Any mooring buoys meeting the following criteria MUST be submitted for review under the provisions of the NWPA:

The placement of more than two (2) mooring buoys by one proponent
A mooring buoy intend for a vessel exceeding 20 meters in length
The placement of a mooring buoy in a waterway that is less than 100 meters wide

Originally Posted by Passage50

Vancouver Island:

The Bay I would like to Moore my Boat in has numerous Mooring Buoys and almost no more room to set another one with enough swing room.

Several liveonboarders in this Bay "own" 3 or 4 of these Mooring Buoys and rent them out to others for cash by the month, I doubt they pay taxes on this Busines venture.

What are the legalities of doing so. How many Mooring Buoys can a single person own in the same Bay and prevent others from using the space.

Thank you all for your input-------Cheers

[allenB]

What are the legalities of doing so. How many Mooring Buoys can a single person own in the same Bay and prevent others from using the space.

Thank you all for your input-------Cheers[/QUOTE]

Just so you know - they are either not violating TC rules, or at the very least they will never be prosecuted by TC.

However....... if they are taking money for this "service" and not reporting that income - they are most assuredly violating Revenue Canada rules - and those guys just love to go after "little cheaters" - way more so than the millionaire cheaters who have lawyers.

Just a thought.

[cortezsailor]

Unattended Mooring balls are an issue all over the lower west coast of BC . The issue I see is people dropping balls who live nowhere near them and use them in summer months only. I have seen floats dropped that people use 3 weeks out of the year and they live over 100 miles away

[masou]

i'm in this harbour currently now , my boat is actually on one of the illegally dropped moorings, im not impressed by the whole charade honestly

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, masou.