Canadian Container Certification Requirements 

There are at least 2 regulatory authorities in Canada who regulate activities in the offshore oil & gas industry. These authorities are:

  • "The Canada Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board" (CNOPB) www.cnopb.nfnet.com

  • "The Canada - Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board" (CNSOPB) www.cnsopb.ns.ca or you can link from CNOPB site.

  In Canada there is also an oil & gas industry organisation and that is the:

  • "Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers" (CAPP)

CAPP web page is at www.capp.ca and you can download their document on offshore containers.  The document is called "Control & Handling of Containers in the Newfoundland Offshore Area".  On their home page, go to "CAPP Info" then scroll down to "Industry Guidelines", click on that and it will take you to a selection of documents including the Offshore Container document.  In section 3, of the container document they have taken an interesting approach to approval of containers. See sections 3(a) & 3(b). Both Lloyds and DNV are active in the approval of offshore containers in the Newfoundland area and all new containers used in this region are class society approved.

When planning work in the Newfoundland offshore area it is recommended that contact be made with local authorities (or CAPP) regarding the required temperature rating of offshore containers.

Due to the extreme cold, there may be a requirement for containers to be certified to minus 20 degrees Celsius or even lower. This will guard against initiation of brittle fractures of steel that can occur in extremes of cold weather.