Canadian Coast Guard to increase radar coverage for areas off North Coast and Haida Gwaii

Prince Rupert's Seal Cove Coast Guard
Base is the home of the North Coast
Marine Communication Centre

Six areas of British Columbia's waters, two of them south of Prince Rupert, one on the Central Coast and two more located just North Vancouver Island and south of Haida Gwaii will be seeing addition radar resources added to provide for additional marine safety in the region.

In an announcement today in Richmond, Jonathan Wilkinson, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard revealed the background to the plan to provide additional coverage for the Coast Guards Marine Communication and Traffic Services system.

“These new radars will enhance our Marine Communication and Traffic Services network, providing reliable, accurate information on vessel movement in the coastal waters of British Columbia. This information will increase marine safety and reduce the risk of marine emergencies. This is another example of our partnership with Indigenous and coastal communities in B.C. to make our waters and coasts safer, cleaner and healthier.” 

Prince Rupert's Seal Cove Coast Guard base is one of the major west coast Communication Centres that tracks the movements of shipping up and down the coast and to the west of Haida Gwaii.

The new resources will be added to the current systems that they make use of as part of their watch on the waters of coastal British Columbia.

Towards the enhancements announced today will be additional coverage for areas located in Grenville Channel and Douglas Channel located south of Prince Rupert and Kitimat.

Seaforth Channel near Bella Bella will also receive additional radar resources, that area has been a central area for a number of recent marine incidents on the Pacific coast.

 Queen Charlotte Sound and Queen Charlotte Strait,will also see improvements.

The remaining radar enhancements will be at Seymour Narrows near Campbell River, as well as in the Strait of Georgia further south.

The Canadian Coast Guard will be adding additional radar monitoring to
areas of the North and Central Coast providing enhanced coverage for
the Prince Rupert Communication Centre.
(Map from CCG twitter feed click to enlarge)

As the new radars will be located within the traditional territories of a number of First Nations in B.C. The government has been engaged with these First Nations since the project began, and has received their support for this work to improve marine safety in coastal waters.

The additional resources were made as part of the Federal government's Oceans Protection Plan.

More background on today's announcement can be found here.

For more items of interest related to the Emergency Responders of the Northwest see our archive page here.


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