SWP - Boat Operations

Launching, operating, working from, recovering and securing any department vessel: inflatables, rigid-hull inflatables, aluminum rescue boats, airboats, ice rescue craft, and fireboats for the rescue and transport elements (fireboat firefighting is in Marine Firefighting Program). Every department vessel is a non-pleasure (commercial) vessel under federal law and is registered, equipped, crewed and operated accordingly (Transport Canada, n.d.-d, TP 14070). It applies at incidents, in training and in maintenance runs.

• Capsize, swamping and ejection: overloading, high speed in waves, turning across the sea, a wake, an engine cut while beam-on.
• Person overboard; the operator thrown from the helm with the engine running (no kill cord).
• Collision and grounding: night, fog, spray, debris, shoals, other vessels, swimmers and rescuers in the water near the propeller.
• Low-head dams, weirs, strainers and current at river incidents; ice.
• Cold water immersion; carbon monoxide from engines; fuel handling and fire; battery and electrical faults.
• Trailering and launching: ramps, vehicle rollback, members between the trailer and the vessel.
• Operators without the competency for the vessel and the waters; crews without familiarization.

1. Elimination. Do not launch when the go criteria are not met; do not approach hazards the vessel cannot escape; use shore-based or aerial methods where they serve as well.
2. Substitution. The vessel suited to the water (inflatable for shallow and current, rigid hull for open water, ice craft for ice); daylight operations where the task can wait.
3. Engineering. Vessel built, equipped and maintained to the Small Vessel Regulations’ workboat requirements (Small Vessel Regulations [CA], 2026); kill cord; navigation lights; radio; propeller guard where fitted; capacity plate; bilge pump; fire extinguisher; fireboats to the marine chapter of the in-service vehicle standard (NFPA 1910, 2024).
4. Administrative. This procedure; the pre-launch checklist and log every launch (Form - Vessel Pre-Launch Checklist and Log); operator competency by vessel and waters (Marine Personnel Regulations [CA], 2026, Part 2); onboard familiarization for everyone aboard (Marine Personnel Regulations [CA], 2026, s. 205); go and no-go limits per vessel; passenger and load limits; a shore contact and check-in schedule; person-overboard, capsize and engine-failure drills every season.
5. PPE. Canadian-approved PFD on everyone aboard at all times (Small Vessel Regulations [CA], 2026, Schedule); helmet in current and at night; thermal protection or immersion suit in cold water; gloves; knife; light; whistle.

As the vessel’s safety equipment inventory (Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program section 17.4): PFDs for all aboard plus spares, lifebuoy and heaving line, reboarding device, bailer or pump, paddles or anchor with line, sound signal, navigation lights, watertight flashlight, distress signals in date, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, marine VHF with a certificated operator, kill cord, capacity plate and registration marks; fuel checked; battery charged; throw bags; victim flotation; patient packaging where the vessel will transport a patient; charts or local knowledge; a tow line.

An operator holding the competency for this vessel and these waters (pleasure craft operator card plus small non-pleasure vessel basic safety for a workboat of 5 gross tonnage or less and 8 m or less on sheltered waters; small vessel operator proficiency plus basic safety above 8 m or on near-coastal voyages; limited master or master above 5 gross tonnage; the regulations prevail over the summary table) (Transport Canada, n.d.-d, TP 14070 Table 4-1; Marine Personnel Regulations [CA], 2026); a radio operator with the restricted operator certificate with maritime commercial endorsement where VHF is carried (Radiocommunication Act [CA], 1985); at least one crew member in addition to the operator; everyone aboard familiarized on this vessel; the operator’s annual proficiency on this vessel on record. The officer in charge at the shore owns the go or no-go decision with the operator.

1. Go or no-go. The operator and the officer check the vessel’s written limits: wind, wave and sea state, visibility, darkness, ice, current, water level and rising trend, temperature, fuel, crew available and their competency, the hazard map for the site (dams, weirs, strainers, shoals, cables). Decision point: every go criterion met and the operator certified for this vessel and water? If not, the vessel does not launch; the record says why.
2. Pre-launch checklist (Form - Vessel Pre-Launch Checklist and Log): hull and tubes, engine start and tilt, fuel, battery, bilge, kill cord fitted, lights, radio check with the shore contact, safety equipment present and in date, PFDs sized and on, capacity and load, trailer straps and winch, drain plug in. Hard stops are marked on the form.
3. Brief the crew: task, route, hazards, roles (operator, bow, crew, rescuer), communication (radio channel, hand signals), person-overboard and capsize actions, the kill cord, where everyone sits and holds on, the check-in schedule with shore.
4. Launch. The ramp checked for ice, slope and depth; the tow vehicle chocked and in park with the brake on; nobody between the trailer and the vessel while it moves; the vessel walked off with lines, not ridden off; the engine started only when the vessel floats clear.
5. Under way. Kill cord on the operator’s wrist or PFD at all times the engine runs; speed to the conditions and the visibility; weight balanced; turns made into the sea, not across it; a lookout at the bow at night and in debris; the propeller stopped whenever a person is in the water near the vessel; approach to swimmers and rescuers from downwind or downstream with the engine in neutral or off.
6. At the victim. Approach from downstream or downwind; flotation given first; the victim brought aboard over the bow or the tube with the engine off, or secured alongside for a short run to shore when boarding is unsafe; the crew keeps their own weight low and centred.
7. River hazards. Never approach a dam, a weir or a strainer from upstream; use ferry angles; tensioned boat-on-tether systems only at technician level under SWP - Swiftwater Rescue; an anchor ready and a plan to beach if the engine fails.
8. Towing only with a bridle to the vessel’s rated points, at low speed, with a knife ready to cut the line; never tow a vessel with people aboard faster than the slower vessel can handle.
9. Recover. Engine tilted, kill cord removed only after the engine is off, the vessel winched onto the trailer with nobody between, straps on before the ramp is climbed; drain plug pulled; fuel and battery checked for the next call.
10. Secure and log. Engine flushed where required, equipment inventory restored, defects reported to fleet and the vessel master; the log completed with the hours, the crew, the conditions and any incident.

• Person overboard: “Person overboard” called with the side; the engine to neutral; the kill cord pulled if the operator is the one overboard; approach from downwind with the engine off for the final metres; recover over the side or the bow; warm and assess.
• Capsize: stay with the vessel unless it is moving toward a hazard; count the crew; signal shore; the shore team’s throw bags at the catch points; the vessel is not chased.
• Engine failure in current or weather: anchor, paddle to the bank, or beach; radio shore; do not restart with anyone in the water.
• Fire or fuel leak: extinguisher, engine off, fuel shut-off, crew upwind, prepare to abandon with PFDs on.
• Grounding or collision: stop; check the hull and the crew; bilge; signal; stay aboard if it floats.

The pre-launch checklist and the vessel log for every launch; defects to fleet and the vessel master; any capsize, ejection, person overboard, collision, grounding or engine failure under way is reported before the end of the shift and reviewed (Tier 2 for any of these; Tier 1 AAR for every voyage with an incident) (Incident Investigation and Learning Program). Operator certificates and familiarization records are kept in the operator competency matrix.

Operator certificates for the vessel and the waters; annual proficiency on each vessel; person-overboard, capsize and engine-failure drills every season; onboard familiarization for every crew member before their first voyage and annually. The Water and Ice Rescue Program Improvement Team reviews this procedure every three years, after every event in section 8, on any new vessel, and whenever the federal small vessel or marine personnel rules change; the JOHSC is consulted.

Water, Ice and Swiftwater Rescue Program; Marine Firefighting Program; Form - Vessel Pre-Launch Checklist and Log; SWP - Swiftwater Rescue; SWP - Ice Rescue; Apparatus, Driving and Roadway Operations Program (trailering); Checklist - Water, Ice and Marine Operations.

This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.

Transport Canada. (n.d.-d). Small commercial vessel safety guide (TP 14070). https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/publications/tp-14070-small-commercial-vessel-safety-guide-2010