Transport Canada issued a bulletin, in order to advise on the use of unmanned air vehicles/ drones, in the vicinity of port facilities and marine vessels. The agency is developing a strong regulatory framework, that will apply to both commercial and recreational drone operators, later this year.
Drones are used for commercial and recreational purposes. Currently, different rules apply to commercial and recreational drones:
- In most cases, commercial drones should not fly closer than 100 lateral feet away (approx. 30 meters) from any building, structure, vehicle, vessel, animal, or person. If the drone weighs more than 1 kg, this distance grows to 500 lateral feet away (approx. 150 meters).
- Recreational drones (regardless of size) should not fly closer than 75 meters (approx. 250 feet) from buildings, vessels or people.
Transport Canada recommends operators that if they see someone flying a drone near a vessel or a port facility, in a way that poses a threat to safety, security or privacy, they should report the incident to local police for investigation.
