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Load Line Convention between Canada and the United States [1934] CATSer 4 (26 July 1934)

E101573 - CTS 1934 No.10

LOAD LINE CONVENTION BETWEEN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES

WASHINGTON, 9th December, 1933

His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, in respect of the Dominion of Canada, and the President of the United States of America,

Desiring to exempt vessels of Canada and the United States operating solely in certain sheltered waters of the west coast of North America from load line requirements, as contemplated in Article 2, Section 2 of the International Load Line Convention, signed at London, July 5, 1930, which reads as follows:-

"Ships when engaged on international voyages between the near neighbouring ports of two or more countries may be exempted by the Administration to which such ships belong from the provisions of this Convention, so long as they shall remain in such trades, if the Governments of the countries in which such ports are situated shall be satisfied that the sheltered nature and conditions of such voyages between such ports make it unreasonable or impracticable to apply the provisions of this Convention to ships engaged in such trades."

have resolved to conclude a convention for these purposes, and to that end have appointed as their respective Plenipotentiaries:

His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, for the Dominion of Canada:

The Honourable William Duncan Herridge, P.C., D.S.O., M.C., His Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary for Canada in the United States of America; and

The President of the United States of America:

William Phillips, Acting Secretary of State of the United States of America;

Who, having communicated to each other their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

The Government of the United States of America, being satisfied that the waters of Puget Sound, the waters lying between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and east of a line from a point one nautical mile west of the city limits of Port Angeles in the State of Washington to Race Rocks on Vancouver Island, and of a line from Hope Island, British Colombia, to Cape Calvert, Calvert Island, British Columbia, the waters east of a line from Cape Calvert to Duke Point on Duke Island, and the waters north of Duke Island and east of Prince of Wales Island, Baranof Island and Chicagof Island, the waters of Peril, Neva and Olga Straits to Sitka, and the waters east of a line from Port Althorp on Chicagof Island to Cape Spencer, Alaska, are sheltered waters of the nature contemplated in Article 2, Section 2 of the International Load Line Convention, 1930, agrees to exempt from the provisions of the International Load Line Convention, and existing load line statutes of the United States, Canadian vessels, and vessels of the United States, when engaged on international voyages originating on, wholly confined to, and terminating on the above defined waters.

ARTICLE 2

The Government of the Dominion of Canada, also being satisfied of the sheltered nature of the waters defined in Article 1 agrees likewise to exempt vessels of the United States and Canadian vessels from the requirements of the aforesaid convention and existing load line statutes of Canada, when engaged on international voyages originating on, wholly confined to, and terminating on the said waters.

ARTICLE 3

The present convention shall be ratified in accordance with the constitutional methods of the High Contracting Parties. It shall take effect on the day of the exchange of ratifications, which shall take place at Washington as soon as possible, and it shall remain in force thereafter, until six months from the date on which one of the High Contracting Parties shall have given to the other notice of an intention to terminate it.

IN FAITH WHEREOF the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention and affixed thereto their respective seals.

DONE in duplicate at Washington, the ninth day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-three.

William D. Herridge

William Phillips