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ARTICLE · 30 NOVEMBER 2011

Setting Sail Before A Gale – A Risky, Costly Tale

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
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The Nova Scotia Provincial Court determines an appropriate sentence for a towing company convicted under s. 118 of the "Canada Shipping Act, 2001".

CanadaTransport
Graham Walker
Graham Walker
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The Nova Scotia Provincial Court determines an appropriate sentence for a towing company convicted under s. 118 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.

The Canada Shipping Act, 2001, at s. 118 provides: "No person shall take any action that might jeopardize the safety of a vessel or of persons on board." Such an offence entails a fine, on summary conviction, of up to $1 million or imprisonment for up to 18 months. In R. v. Atlantic Towing Ltd., the first case applying s. 118, the Nova Scotia Provincial Court had to decide on an appropriate sentence for an offence under that specific provision.

Atlantic Towing had contracted to tow a dredge from Saint John, New Brunswick, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with three crew members aboard the dredge, when gale-force winds and stormy seas were predicted. The dredge had no valid inspection certificate, but its previous certificates had prohibited its navigation more than 15 nautical miles from shore. The weather deteriorated rapidly

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