With the recent approval of the Trans Mountain and Kinder Morgan pipelines on Canada's West Coast, a team far above the sea will be watching tanker ships for any oil spills.
Transport Canada is tasked with preventing pollution from ships, and uses marine aerial reconnaissance teams with its National Aerial Surveillance Program to achieve that.
Along B.C.'s coast, the group uses infrared cameras and high-tech radar systems to search for oil spills and discharges.
"Going up the shipping lanes, we're ensuring that they're not discharging anything in their wake," said Bob Whitaker, a senior technician with the program.
Oil spills tend to slow wave activity and the area looks different on radar, say team members.
Canada's combined coastline of roughly 243,000 kilometres -- which includes coastlines along the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, as well as the Great Lakes -- is the longest in the world and requires three teams to patrol it.
Spills larger than five metres are reported to the Coast Guard.
Last year, nearly 400 marine oil spills were detected.
The program itself has imposed nearly $1.86 million in penalties and 34 charges from 29 incidents.
"I think overall our presence has a positive effect," said Whitaker.
But the aircraft isn't limited to keeping a watchful eye on the coastline.
In May, the aircraft was used during the Fort McMurray wildfires to help relay information about the fire's movement and ensure emergency crews were kept up to date.
In the Atlantic, the aircraft was used in the manhunt for Justin Bourque, the man convicted of killing three Moncton RCMP members in 2014.
With a report from CTV’s Melanie Nagy
