Survey Bulletin

[December 21^st, 2018] The update for December 21^st will be the final update for 2018. Updates will resume on Friday January 4^th, 2019.

[November 30^th, 2018] New questionnaire online. In response to feedback collected from mariners who completed the separate AIS Application Specific Messages (ASM) and AIS Aids to Navigation (AIS AtoN) questionnaires, the Canadian Coast Guard has combined these two questionnaires into a single simplified six-question questionnaire. Respondents are asked to provide details on the ECDIS system in use to display AIS ASM and AIS AtoN information and then indicate if they are able to see specific AIS information in their area. The new simplified questionnaire can be accessed at Surveys. Please note that as a result of the questionnaires being combined, the separate AIS ASM and AIS AtoN questionnaires are now closed.

[November 16^th, 2018] New questionnaire in progress. Following feedback regarding the ongoing AIS ASM and AIS AtoN questionnaires, the e-Navigation team is working on a single streamlined survey. The launch of the new survey will be announced on this page in the comings weeks.

[October 3^rd, 2018] AIS ASM Questionnaire has been updated. The AIS ASM Questionnaire has been updated to incorporate the test Ice Recommended route which is being broadcast by AIS in the vicinity of Halifax Harbour, NS. Pilots operating near the entrance to the Halifax Harbour are being asked to confirm whether or not the on-board ECDIS systems are able to correctly display this message.

There were no significant updates in September 2018.

[August 24^th, 2018] AIS ASM Questionnaire has been updated. The AIS ASM Questionnaire has been updated to incorporate the QUEBEC BRIDGE Air Gap and an test Ice Recommended route in the vicinity of Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Que, both of which are being broadcast by AIS. Pilots operating near Quebec City and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures are being asked to confirm whether or not the on-board ECDIS systems are able to correctly display these messages.

[August 17^th, 2018] AIS AtoN Questionnaire has been updated. Four new AIS AtoN test beds have been initiated in the Western Region (British Columbia). The AIS AtoN questionnaire now includes AIS AtoNs at Triple Islands (Hanmer Rocks), at Nigel Island (Cholberg Point), near Richmond (Steveston Bend), and in the Georgia Strait (Sand Heads).

[July 13^th, 2018] Survey Bulletin Hiatus. There will be no updates to this page between July 14^th and August 12^th, 2018. The next survey bulletin will published on August 13^th, 2018.

[June 15^th, 2018] AIS AtoN Questionnaire has been updated in the Atlantic and Central and Arctic Regions. The Halifax Harbour AIS AtoN Test Bed has been updated to incorporate the H6 Real AIS AtoN located South-West of the Neverfail Shoal Virtual AIS AtoN diamond. As well, the Ste-Croix, Que AIS AtoN Test Bed has been reactivated in the Central and Arctic Region; as such the Q50 Real AIS AtoN and the Ste-Croix Radar Mark Virtual AIS AtoN are once again part of the questionnaire.

[June 11^th, 2018] Technical difficulties with the Trial Islands AIS AtoNs - RESOLVED. The technical difficulties affecting the broadcast of the AIS AtoNs in the vicinity of Trial Islands south of Victoria B.C. have been resolved. Pilots operating in the area should now be able to receive and display those AIS AtoNs on equipment on board.

[June 8^th, 2018] Technical difficulties with the Trial Islands AIS AtoNs. We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties affecting the broadcast of the AIS AtoNs in the vicinity of Trial Islands south of Victoria B.C. This may affect the display of these AIS AtoNs on equipment on board. We are working to find and correct the cause of this error. This page will feature an update once the issue has been resolved.

[June 1^st, 2018] The AIS AtoN Questionnaire has been updated. In response to some of the feedback received from pilots who have completed the Reference Points Questionnaire, a number of changes have been made with the goal of simplifying submissions. The three separate surveys (one for each region) have been replaced by a single consolidated national-level AIS AtoN questionnaire in which pilots can specify their area and receive only the information and questions relevant to their particular situation. The questionnaire has also been clearly divided into three sections to better contextualize the questions and responses. Lastly, the change in name from Reference Points Questionnaire to AIS AtoN Questionnaire was made to better reflect the subject matter.

As always, respondents are encouraged to provide not only information relevant to positive experiences with AIS AtoNs, but also situations in which on-board equipment is unable to correctly display AIS AtoNs.

Despite the changes to the questionnaire, it remains accessible from the same location at Surveys.

[May 18^th, 2018] Surveys have been extended. The deadline for participating in the questionnaires on AIS Met/Hydro messages and AIS AtoNs has been pushed back to fall 2018. The ENAV team hopes to gather as many responses as possible and so we encourage pilots to take full advantage of this extension. Each response contributes to our understanding of the state of ENAV from the end-user’s perspective and helps us improve the services that pilots, navigators, and shop operators require.

[April 13^th, 2018] AIS ATON Survey for Central and Arctic Region has been updated. The scope for the AIS AtoN survey for Central and Arctic Region has been slightly expanded to include points located in the Great Lakes. As a result, the survey has been renamed to “St. Lawrence Waterway and Seaway and the Great Lakes”. The link to the survey has not changed and can be accessed from here.

There were no significant updates in March 2018.

[February 9^th, 2018] The AIS ASM (Met/Hydro) and AIS AtoN test beds surveys are now available on the ENAV Maritime Information Portal. The CCG ENAV team has recently migrated the surveys from the Survey Monkey® platform to the Maritime Information Portal (MIP); the surveys are now accessible here.