Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox. As you mentioned earlier, this is an ongoing investigation and it wouldn't be prudent for us to discuss specifics around the Zim Kingston at this time. Perhaps I could answer your question in terms of the transportation system right now. I mentioned earlier the number of containers that are shipped worldwide.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. As Ms. Fox identified earlier, the investigation that the Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board has undertaken into lost containers over the last 10 years has not been significant. However, we are looking at lessons learned, or the cause and contributing factors identified by international occurrences.

Fisheries committee  The stability of the container vessel is assessed and the amount of cargo that the vessel can carry is documented in the cargo securing manual. This manual is approved by the flag or by the country of the vessel, and it is done in accordance with international standards. This is then provided to the crew and to the shippers for adherence, or to review the loading of the vessel to make sure it is in accordance with the approved cargo securing manual.

Fisheries committee  The lead department in Canada for interaction with the International Maritime Organization in these effects is Transport Canada. They're the regulator of federal shipping.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox, and thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't really have anything to add beyond, as mentioned, the polluter pays principle. I know there are international conventions governing the recovery or the response to pollution as well, and they're incorporated into Canadian law and responded to by the federal departments responsible.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Chair, I'm trying to think about incidents where we would have discussed the shipping currents in the St. Lawrence. I know that the Transportation Safety Board undertook an extensive class 1 investigation into pilotage issues in 1995. A lot of those recommendations were addressed since that time; however, the use of pilots on international vessels sailing into the St.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox. Mr. Chair, there were statistics released by the World Shipping Council, which identified that for an annual period around 2017, approximately 625 million containers were shipped worldwide. Of those containers that were shipped worldwide, the percentage that they calculated were lost outside of catastrophic events—which would be the complete loss of a vessel—was in the factor of 0.0006% or potentially around 2,000 or 2,500 containers annually.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox and Mr. Chair. I'll address the question in English, if that's okay. The communication protocols on board the vessel are generally undertaken in English, and the communication is undertaken in English between vessels and vessel traffic control. However, it's my understanding as well that this communication can be undertaken in the second official language, as the member posed that question.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox and thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, when we received notification of the occurrence, we looked at the circumstances surrounding it. We looked at the fire and we assessed the occurrence. We decided to deploy and start gathering information to undertake the investigation.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox. Mr. Chair, as Ms. Fox mentioned in her opening remarks, we are actively participating with our international partners at the International Maritime Organization and through our work at the Marine Accident Investigators' International Forum as well. We're closely following examples or cases of other container losses worldwide.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox. Mr. Chair, yes, it is a reportable occurrence. I don't have those statistics in front of me right now, but I can certainly review our data and provide that information to the committee, should it be desired.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Chair, I can speak in generalities on the information that is being gathered. I can report that when it comes down to the actual cargo-securing mechanisms on board these container vessels, they use a twist-lock system or another mechanism that secures the cargo to the vessel and secures the cargo containers to each other.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox. In regard to the stowage on board, there are international regulations and codes with best practices and laws that govern that. It is covered in SOLAS, or the safety of life at sea convention. Chapter VI of SOLAS refers to the securement of cargo on board. There is also an international code for safe containers, which deals with the construction of containers.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Ms. Fox. I will comment that the Transportation Safety Board was notified of the occurrence on October 21 when the Zim Kingston first lost containers. Subsequently—

Fisheries committee  Mr. Chair, I don't have that information. That's a question that's perhaps best directed towards the Canadian Coast Guard.