Plan approval - Acceptance of plans stamped by a Canadian licensed engineer

1 Policy Objective

• 1.1 To accept as approved vessel plan(s) submitted by a ship owner, builder or designer that have been reviewed and stamped by an engineer ^{Footnote 1} who holds a valid licence issued by at least one of the provincial/territorial professional engineers associations in Canada.
• 1.2 To establish an alternative for Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security (TCMSS) to expedite the current plan approval process.
• 1.3 To provide a means for TCMSS to allocate its resources to other priorities in order to work more efficiently and effectively.

2 Policy Statement   

• 2.1 For the issuance of Canadian Maritime Documents (CMDs) in accordance with section 16. (1) of the Canada Shipping Act 2001 (CSA 2001) and procedure detailed in 2.2 below, vessel plans that are required to be approved by Transport Canada (TC) will be accepted by TCMSS if they have been stamped by a licensed engineer in Canada as meeting Canadian regulations and standards.
• 2.2 Engineer stamped plan(s) must be sent to a Regional Transport Canada Centre (TCC), reviewed and stamped by the Minister (as represented by a Marine Safety Inspector) in accordance with the Tier II Procedures on Acceptance and Monitoring of Engineer Stamped Plans (RDIMS #7977895) before CMDs can be issued.
• 2.2.1To be considered for acceptance, an engineer stamped plan^{Footnote 2} must
  1. indicate or be accompanied by a document ^{Footnote 3} identifying the applicable regulations or standards, including any specific parts or vessel type or vessel category; and relevant limitations in the drawing and/or operation;
  2. include a statement of compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements;
  3. indicate the purpose of the plan(s), e.g., “Concept”, “Preliminary”, “For Construction”, “Re-submission”, “superseding an existing plan following modification to vessel or equipment” etc.; and
  4. be stamped in accordance with the legislation, standards and guidelines governing the particular professional engineers association and its members, and include the date and signature of the engineer.
• 2.3 Acceptance of engineer stamped plan(s) does not constitute a complete review or an approval; the submitter is responsible for the accuracy of the information shown on the plan(s). The Authorized Representative must ensure compliance with all applicable requirements.
• 2.4 An engineer stamped plan may be subject to monitoring in accordance with the Tier II Procedures on Acceptance and Monitoring of Engineer Stamped Plans (RDIMS # 7977895).
• 2.5 Submittal of engineer stamped plan(s) is preferably in electronic format (PDF); however, a hard copy may also be accepted when electronic format is not available.

3 Scope

• 3.1 This policy applies to all Canadian registered vessels that require plans to be approved as per the documents listed in the Appendix of this policy.
• 3.2 This policy does not apply to plan(s) or information submitted for the purpose of equipment or product approval.
• 3.3 This policy does not apply to Canadian registered vessels that are enrolled in the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program (DSIP) or plan(s) that have been approved by one of the recognized classification societies known as Recognized Organizations (ROs), subject to their signed agreement with the Minister.
• 3.4 This policy does not authorize engineer stamps to be used to approve or accept deviations from regulatory requirements; such deviations may only be authorized by separate submission to the MTRB (Marine Technical Review Board).

4. Authority 

• 4.1 This policy falls under the overall administrative authority of the Director General, Marine Safety and Security, and the Marine Safety and Security Executive (MSSE) committee has approved this policy for general application.

5. Responsibility/ further information

• 5.1 The Executive Director, Domestic Vessel Regulatory Oversight, is accountable for the development, approval and maintenance of this policy.
• 5.2 The Manager, Small Vessels and Fishing Vessels (AMSDS), and the Manager, Arctic and Large Vessels (AMSDL), are the OPI for this policy.
• 5.3 The Regional Directors, Marine Safety and Security, are responsible for the implementation of this policy.
• 5.4 Comments or queries related to this policy and its application should be addressed to:
  • Executive Director, Domestic Regulatory Oversight
    330 Sparks Street (AMSD)
    Ottawa, ON
    K1A 0N8
    Phone: 613-949-3819
    Fax: 613-991-4818

6 Related Documents

• 6.1 Tier II Procedure - Acceptance and Monitoring of Engineer Stamped Plans (RDIMS #7977895).
• 6.2 Tier III Work Instructions - Guidelines for Filing Vessel Plans in RDIMS (RDIMS #1338375).
• 6.3 Form 85-0500 – Submission of Engineer Stamped Plan.
• 6.4 Log – Acceptance and Monitoring of Engineer Stamped Plans (RDIMS #9600482).

7 Background 

• 7.1 Certain vessel plans are required to be approved by Transport Canada. In order to provide service options to its clients, TCMSS is evaluating ways to make the plan approval process more efficient.
• 7.2 Licensed engineers have expertise to undertake the ship design and calculation review and verification tasks; in performing their engineering roles, an engineer is bound by the code of ethics of his/her affiliated association.
• 7.3 Transport Canada also has agreements in place which allow ROs to approve plans on behalf of Marine Safety and Security.
• 7.4 Marine Safety and Security recognizes that alternative approaches can provide an equivalent degree of safety and environmental protection, and can improve efficiency and add flexibility for the marine sector.
• 7.5 Part 1, section 16. (1) of the CSA 2001 provides the Minister with the authority to determine what documents they may be accepted for issuance of a CMD and how.

8 Definitions

• 8.1 Recognized Organization (RO): a classification society that has been delegated authority by the Minister of Transport to perform inspections or issue certificates on behalf of the Minister and under the authority of formal legal agreements.
• 8.2 Plan: drawings, calculations, data or other forms of information or documents required to demonstrate compliance pursuant to Part 4, section 119 of the CSA 2001 to ensure the requirements of the regulations respecting design and construction are met.
• 8.3 Engineer stamped plan: a plan that bears a licensed engineer’s stamp and signature, or a set of plans accompanied by a cover letter that bears a licensed engineer’s stamp and signature, declaring that set of plans was reviewed and stamped by that engineer.

9 Date of Application  

• 9.1 This policy comes into effect on September 19, 2014.

10 Date for Review or Expiry 

• 10.0This policy will be reviewed within two (2) years of its effective date or upon revision of the Regulations or Standards listed in the Appendix of this document.

11 RDIMS Reference 

• 11.1 The English version of this document is saved in RDIMS under reference number 7832251.  The applied naming convention is PUBLICATION – TP 13585 – POLICY – ACCEPTANCE OF PLANS STAMPED BY A CANADIAN LICENSED ENGINEER.
• 11.2 La version française du présent document est dans le SGDDI et porte le numéro de référence (9884927).  La règle d'affectation des noms est PUBLICATION – TP 13585 – POLITIQUE – ACCEPTATION DES PLANS PORTANT LE SCEAU D’UN INGÉNIEUR AGRÉÉ AU CANADA.
• 11.3 This is the first approved and finalized revision of the English version of this document.

12 Keywords 

• Plan Approval
• Acceptance
• Engineer Stamped Plan
• Professional Engineers
• Licensed Engineer
• P.Eng.
• Ing. or Eng.

APPENDIX

List of Applicable Regulations and TPs Where Plan Approval Is Required:

• Hull Inspection Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1432);
• Marine Machinery Regulations (SOR/90-264);
• Large Fishing Vessel Inspection Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1435);
• Small Fishing Vessel Inspection Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1486);
• Life Saving Equipment Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1436);
• PDF format (849.26 KB) Fire Detection and Extinguishing Equipment Regulations;
• TP 7301 – Stability, Subdivision and Load Line Standards;
• TP 11717 – Standards for the Construction and Inspection of Small Passenger Vessels;
• Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations (SOR/2012-69).
• TP 2237 – Equivalent Standards for Fire Protection of Passenger Ships;
• TP 4813 – Draft Fire Protection, Detection and Extinguishing Equipment Regulations.