# Canadian Marine Shipping Risk Forum This Community of Practice, part of MEOPAR Communities of Practice Program, is open to people and organizations working in or conducting research on shipping risk. It provides those interested with a platform to network and share knowledge around shipping risk. Find out more about how communities of practice are having an impact in the marine sector. Join the CMSRF The Canadian Marine Shipping Risk Forum is a community of practice (CoP), addressing topics relating to the exploration of risks from - and to - shipping, generally within the Canadian region. The CoP’s activities revolve around three primary interest areas: shipping movement data, shipping traffic modelling, and shipping risk quantification and assessment. On shipping data, types and means of acquisition and data handling, processing, and sharing (where possible) are addressed. Modelling of shipping activity covers needs, approaches and methods, sharing of model code, and modelling output performance assessment and metrics. Shipping risk assessment and risk quantification comprise the bulk of the CoP’s focus, due to its breadth and importance. Shipping risk topics range from assessment of risks within a given operating region, to examination of the impacts of shipping traffic on diverse receptors (e.g. environment, species at risk, human health), and applications concerning vessel safety. Broadly, the CoP addresses problems related to the modelling of ship movement and presence, the impacts from these vessels to the environment and other receptors, and impacts to vessels from external sources. Contact the CMSRF Beyond the Horizon: Maritime Risk Management (April 21, 2026) Beyond the Horizon: NAVISON sound forecast mapping for ship emission reductions (January 20, 2026) Beyond the Horizon: Discover OneHarbour™ - Enhanced Marine Domain Awareness in Halifax (December 2, 2025) Beyond the Horizon: New Whale Report Platform from Ocean Wise (May 6, 2025) Beyond the Horizon: Predictive insights using OCIANA(R) for collaborative and just-in-time marine operations (April 17, 2025) Beyond the Horizon: Towards near-real time automatic detection of whales from space in Canadian waters (October 29, 2024) Beyond the Horizon: Technology Implications for Marine Pilotage (June 10, 2024) Risk-based analysis and design for remote pilotage operations in Finnish fairways (May 23, 2024) Detecting Whales with Thermal Land- and Vessel-based Sensors from Coast to Coast (January 18, 2024) Applying Different Technologies to Shipping Risk: Data Collection and Application (November 30, 2023) Applying Different Technologies to Shipping Risk: Water-based (November 9, 2023) Applying Different Technologies to Shipping Risk: Shore-based (October 5, 2023) Applying Different Technologies to Shipping Risk: Aerial (October 5, 2023) Applying Different Technologies to Shipping Risk: Satellites (September 21, 2023) Permitting Cruise Ship Access to Glacier Bay National Park (May 23, 2023) Marine Liability and Compensation: Who Pays for an Oil Spill in Canada and Beyond? (March 1, 2023) Incorporating AIS Data to Support Navigational Safety in the Arctic (November 25, 2022) Using AIS Data for Community Benefit (October 24, 2022) Using AIS Data for Research (June 23, 2022) Managing Shipping Risk in Marine Protected Areas (June 24, 2021) North-South Collaborations to Support Low-Impact Arctic Shipping Corridors Decision-Making (May 7, 2021) Building a Shared Perspective on Arctic Waters Through Community-Engaged Research (February 17, 2021) Improving AIS Analysis for Vessel Tracking (September 24, 2025) Applying AIS Data to Marine Shipping Risk (May 5, 2022) Creating an Inventory of Marine Shipping Risk Resources (December 3, 2020) State of the Art in Shipping Risk and Modelling (December 2, 2019) The CMSRF hosts meetings of the Salish Sea Transboundary Working Group (SSTWG) to share work, ideas, concerns, questions, and issues about marine shipping risk in the Salish Sea region. Discussion of the Sinking of and Spill from the Fishing Vessel Aleutian Isle (October 13, 2022) Transboundary Risk Modelling and Mitigation in the Salish Sea (March 3, 2022) Identify best practices for shipping modelling and shipping risk analysis By gathering experts to discuss state-of-the-art and operational practice in shipping risk analysis, the Community of Practice hopes to identify and update best practices to be recommended. Identify gaps in marine shipping risk assessment and share knowledge to address them Continual improvement of approaches requires the identification of “weak points”. Communication among practitioners on open issues can lead to novel solutions. Maintain active discussion on new developments in marine shipping data sources Data on vessels at sea is accumulating at an ever-increasing rate. Means of handling and interpreting these data are key to making sound decisions on risks both to and from vessels. Provide a focal point for identifying new research in this trans-disciplinary interest area When opportunities arise for branching out, the CoP can provide a table around which various disciplines can talk on common interests. Through this interaction, new partnerships may develop. Risks of, and to, marine shipping have an inherent interdisciplinary nature, with interest held in diverse fields, including waterway traffic management, remote sensing, environmental science, geospatial modelling, transportation regulation, and risk analysis and management. The natural tendency of research within disciplines is generally more inward-looking than outward, which tends to concentrate globally valuable information within single fields of study or organizations. The Canadian Marine Shipping Risk Forum is one mechanism to help lower inter-discipline barriers to marine shipping analysis.