All large commercial marine vessels of 24 metres and above must be inspected and certified. In order to operate your Canadian-flagged vessel, you must have a valid Inspection Certificate.
This is done through the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program. Third-party organizations, known as “recognized organizations,” do the inspections under the authority of Transport Canada.
On this page
- Delegated Statutory Inspection Program
- List of recognized organizations
- Marine Safety and Security Consolidated National Recognized Organizations Performance Evaluation Report
- How to request an exemption from the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program
- Canada-US Memorandum of Cooperation for oversight of mutually recognized organizations
- Contact Marine Safety
- Related links
Delegated Statutory Inspection Program
Under our Delegated Statutory Inspection Program, inspection and certification of large commercial vessels must be done by a recognized organization, as stated in Transport Canada's policy Certification of vessels of 24 metres in length and above.
A recognized organization is a classification society that has an authorization agreement with Transport Canada to inspect and certify vessels.
List of recognized organizations
To request inspection and certification services, contact any of the following recognized organizations:
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)
For service requests: abseasterncanada@eagle.org
Company website: www.eagle.org
Bureau Veritas
For service requests: marine.canada@bureauveritas.com
Company website: marine-offshore.bureauveritas.com
ClassNK (Currently not active in Canada)
Korean Register (Currently not active in Canada)
Lloyd's Register Marine & Offshore (LR)
For service requests: Canada.DSIP@lr.org
Company website: www.lr.org
Marine Safety and Security Consolidated National Recognized Organizations Performance Evaluation Report
Summary of the Oversight Activities Conducted on Transport Canada’s Recognized Organizations During the 2021/22-2023/24 Fiscal Years.
How to request an exemption from the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program
Transport Canada recognizes that certain vessels may not be able to enroll in the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program ( DSIP ). This may be due to factors such as economic hardship or the refusal by a recognized organization to provide services (for reasons such as your vessel's construction material or age). In such rare cases, owners request an exemption from the DSIP by:
- Following the Procedure for exemption from the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program
- Filling out the form Application for exemption from required participation in the delegated statutory inspection program.
- Sending your form with supporting documentation to DSIP-PDIO@tc.gc.ca
When an exemption is granted, Transport Canada will offer vessel inspection and certification services in relation to the specific vessel.
Canada-US Memorandum of Cooperation for oversight of mutually recognized organizations
The US Coast Guard and Transport Canada signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation that provides a framework for sharing and coordinating information from third party recognized organizations that carry out inspection and certification activities of commercial vessels on behalf of both governments.
Currently, the US Coast Guard and Transport Canada each have agreements with the following classification societies: American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register, DNV-GL, Bureau Veritas, RINA Services and Class NK. Sharing the general performance of these recognized organizations increases the scope of each government’s oversight activities. It also relieves the regulatory burden on the recognized organizations by reducing their need to duplicate oversight activities.
This memoradum aligns with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Code for Recognized Organizations, which took effect on January 1, 2015. We expect the memorandum can also serve as a model for other IMO member states.
Please direct your questions about the memorandum to both:
- Mr. John Hannon, US Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance (John.J.Hannon@uscg.mil)
- Manager of SMS and Authorizations, Transport Canada Marine Safety (dsip-pdio@tc.gc.ca).
Contact Marine Safety
For questions about inspections and certification
- Contact your local Marine Safety office
- Email:: marinesafety-securitemaritime@tc.gc.ca
- Telephone: 1-855-859-3123 (toll free) or 613-991-3135 (Ottawa)
For comments and concerns relating to Domestic Vessel Regulatory Oversight
Address:
Transport Canada
Domestic Vessel Regulatory Oversight (AMSD)
Tower C, Place de Ville
330 Sparks Street, 11th Floor
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0N5
Email: insp.stand-norm.insp@tc.gc.ca
Telephone: 1-855-859-3123 or 613-991-3135
Teletypewriter / TDD: 1-888-675-6863
Fax: 613-991-4818