SmartATLANTIC buoy to protect the Bay of Fundy

Today, Rodney Weston, member of parliament for Saint John, Canada has announced funding for the SmartATLANTIC Saint John buoy project to help improve the efficiency, safety and environmental stewardship of marine transportation in the Bay of Fundy.

In line with measures already taken to strengthen Canada's tanker safety system, this project will help to further modernise Canada's marine navigation system by providing accurate and real-time meteorological/hydrological data that will be used to produce high-resolution forecasts of weather and sea conditions. The SmartATLANTIC buoy will also help minimise the potential for incidents, reduce the risk of an oil spill and help support the region's ship-based trade in energy products such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum products.

Captain Andrew Rae, vice president of Canadian Marine Pilots' Association said, “Safety is the marine pilots' number one priority and SmartATLANTIC is a huge step in the right direction. We sincerely thank The Honourable Lisa Raitt, minister of transport, the Province of New Brunswick and the Saint John Port Authority for funding the purchase of the buoy."

The marine transportation community, commercial fishers, recreational boaters and researchers will be able to access this highly valuable, real-time information to more accurately forecast wind, wave and ocean currents. It will not only help improve safe navigation and environmental protection, but it will also maximise the efficiency of commercial traffic using Port Saint John and lower costs for the marine industry in the area.

The Honourable Trevor Holder, minister of tourism, heritage and culture commented, "Advancements which promote and improve activities at the port are an important step forward for our province. We are being proactive with this initiative as traffic at the port is expected to increase significantly as new opportunities open up such as the proposed Energy East Pipeline."

Quick facts

• Transport Canada will contribute up to $185,000 under the Gateways and Border Crossings Fund. The total project cost is approximately $417,000.
• The other project partners include: the Province of New Brunswick (contributing $91,000), the Saint John Port Authority (contributing $91,000), AMEC Environment & Infrastructure (providing in-kind services of $30,000), Canadian Marine Pilots' Association (providing in-kind services of $8,000), and the Canada Coast Guard (providing in-kind services of $12,000).
• The Buoy will be owned by the Institute for Ocean Research Enterprise (IORE).
• The annual operating and maintenance costs of the project will be equally covered by the Atlantic Pilotage Authority, Canaport LNG, Irving Oil, and the Saint John Port Authority. Technical support will be provided by AMEC Environment & Infrastructure and the Centre for Applied Ocean Technology at the Marine Institute at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

For more information, visit SmartATLANTIC.