Promoting boating safety within Canada’s busiest port: overview of 2024 efforts

With thousands of cargo ships, boaters, and paddlers moving through the the Port of Vancouver-Canada's largest port-every year, awareness of safe boating best practices is essential to ensure harbour users can coexist and safely engage in their respective activities, whether commercial or recreational.

Home to 29 terminals and a beautiful coastline, the waters that make up the Port of Vancouver are buzzing with activity. Those busy and shared waterways, home to multiple bridges and subject to strong tidal currents and fluctuations of river flow, require all marine users to be vigilant and follow established rules and procedures, including safe boating practices.

Consistent with our mandate to promote and enable safe and efficient navigation within the limits of the Port of Vancouver, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's harbour patrol and marine operations teams are actively monitoring the waters and promoting safety among its many users, year-round.

Our 2024 boating safety efforts at a glance

2024 was a busy year for recreational marine activities and boating safety awareness efforts within the shared waterways of the Port of Vancouver. Our harbour patrol team developed and delivered-in collaboration with partner agencies-an extensive safe boating awareness program. We organized, participated in, or rolled out dozens of boating safety events and communications, and engaged with boaters and paddlers onboard more than 1,100 vessels to educate, conduct safety checks, and provide safety directions or instructions.

As part of our 2024 safe boating activities, we:

• Held pre-season meetings and patrol training sessions to discuss trends in boating activity, new regulations and areas of concern within the Vancouver harbour, and prepare partner agencies-including the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, Vancouver Police Marine Unit, and Canadian Lifeboat Institute-to assist us with ship escorts during peak boating months
• Co-hosted the Boating Safety Awareness Week launch event on Granville Island where we connected with dozens of recreational marine users and shared important tips on how to stay safe when out on local waterways
• Conducted education pop-ups at public boat launches, marinas, and boat clubs across our navigational jurisdiction to share boating safety best practices and conduct safety equipment inspections, in collaboration with partner agencies
• Enabled-and provided enhanced on-water patrol services for- landmark seasonal events including the annual Honda Celebration of Light, sailboat and canoe races in and around Burrard Inlet, drone shows, and private fireworks demonstrations attended by hundreds of boaters and paddlers
• Engaged in safe boating councils and events to help advance discussions on shared waterways and the challenges associated with recreational boating in Canada's busiest port, and exchange ideas on boating safety with partner agencies, including the Canadian Safe Boating Council, Boating BC, and Transport Canada's Regional Boating Advisory Council
• Created and shared comprehensive, accessible, and impactful safe boating materials including our Burrard Inlet and Fraser River safe boating guides, event-specific post cards and QR codes, an awareness campaign, and a social media content series. Collectively, these collaterals reached more than 500,000 individuals and water sports enthusiasts across the Lower Mainland and played a key role in encouraging and supporting safe boating behaviours throughout the season.

Wrapping up another safe boating season and year

In 2024 again, the port authority's harbour patrol and marine operations teams-alongside partner agencies-demonstrated unwavering dedication to creating a safe shared space for the many recreational and commercial vessels moving through the waters that make up Canada's busiest port. Our collective efforts and ongoing commitment to safety have ensured that the shared waterways making up the Port of Vancouver could remain a secure environment for all marine users.

We are looking forward to continuing this important work in 2025 and extend our thanks to partner agencies whose collaboration has-and will continue to be-instrumental in safeguarding these waters. We also commend boaters and paddlers for their adherence to safety rules and for adopting safe boating behaviours when cruising through the busy waters of the Vancouver harbour.

Learn more about the safe boating resources and procedures in place at the Port of Vancouver here.