In the Strait of Juan de Fuca, vessels respect the traffic lanes and transit US waters inbound and Canadian water outbound when calling Pacific Northwest ports. In the absence of legislation that would recognize these transits in the shared waters as innocent passage in territorial waters, the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) has established reciprocal arrangements with the primary response contractors in the US – Washington State Maritime Cooperative (WSMC) and National Response Corporation (NRC).
Vessels en route to Canadian ports should ensure that coverage is in place with WSMC or NRC for transits inbound. Likewise, vessels outbound from a US port through the Canadian waters within the Strait of Juan de Fuca, should ensure that an arrangement is in place with WCMRC.
To check on the registration status of your vessel with Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, Washington State Maritime Cooperative or National Response Corporation, click on the associated menu item below:
Washington State Maritime Cooperative
To see if a valid WSMC enrollment is in place, check the list of enrolled vessels on the Washington State Maritime Cooperative website.
To enroll with the WSMC the WSMC Enrollment Agreement (96 KB) and Schedule of Vessel Information (46 KB) page must be submitted. On the Schedule of Vessel Information, vessels in transit only should check the box which indicates that the vessel transit is “to/from Canadian port(s), only via the Strait of Juan de Fuca” which notes that the vessel would qualify for the no-fee WSMC Enrollment under the Canada Reciprocal Agreement.
Please note that vessels will be required to have a valid USCG COFR (Certificate of Financial Responsibility) in order to complete WSMC’s Schedule of Vessel Information on-line at WSMC. Paper copies can be submitted by fax to 206-443-3839 or by email to: admin@wsmcoop.org or Debra@marexps.com.
National Response Corporation
To see if a valid NRC enrollment is in place, check the list of enrolled vessels on the National Response Corporation’s website.
To enroll the vessel with the NRC Short Form Contract (72 KB) and the Coverage Addendum (521 KB) must be completed to ensure coverage during Juan de Fuca transits under the Reciprocal Response Arrangement with Western Canada Marine Response Corporation. Submit completed forms by email to: clientservices@nrcc.com or by fax to: 206-607-3001.
Arrangements with WSMC and NRC only need to be updated if and when the information on file is no longer valid.
Vessels bound for US/Washington State ports
Vessels bound for US/Washington State ports and transiting Canadian waters outbound are required to complete Western Canada Response Corporation’s the Juan de Fuca (Non-Bulk) Ship Membership Agreement or the Juan de Fuca (Bulk) Ship Membership Agreement for tank vessels prior to departure from the US port or entry into Canadian waters.
Completed agreements can be faxed to 604-681-4364 or submitted by email to: operations@cosbc.ca.