Public consultations on the Draft Atlantic Canada Standby Vessel (AC-SBV) Guidelines have been completed and the Guidelines have been approved.

The document is dated June 5, 2015 and is also available on the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board website www.cnsopb.ns.ca.

Approval of these Guidelines initiates a 12-month implementation timeline, which means that all existing TP7920 Letters of Compliance (LOC) will cease to be valid on June 5, 2016. Also please note that vessels that are not issued with a TP7920 LOC as of June 5, 2015 cannot make use of the phase-in provisions regarding water spray systems, FRCs and davits, and size of the treatment rooms.

Concurrently with the AC-SBV Guidelines the Board is issuing a notice to operators regarding night time FRC drills.