International Ice Patrol Mission

WHY WAS ICE PATROL FORMED?

While icebergs are a constant navigational hazard in the Arctic, the cold Labrador Current carries some of them south to the vicinity of the Grand Banks and into the great circle shipping lanes between Europe and the major ports of the United States and Canada. Vessels transversing this area try to make their voyage as short and as economical as possible. Therefore, ships in the vicinity of the "limit of all known ice" normally will pass just to the south of this boundary. Vessels passing through Ice Patrol's published ice limit, run the risk of a collision with an iceberg and insurance concerns. In this area the Labrador Current meets the warm Gulf Stream and the temperature differences between the two water masses of up to 20 degrees Celsius, produces dense fog. The combination of icebergs, fog, severe storms, fishing vessels and busy trans-Atlantic shipping lanes makes this area one of the most dangerous. This fact was grimly brought to light with the sinking of the R.M.S. TITANIC in 1912, after it struck an iceberg and approximately 1517 souls perished.

CORE PURPOSE

To promote safe navigation of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean when the danger of iceberg collision exists.

CORE VALUES

1. Individual commitment to the International Ice Patrol mission.
2. Continuous improvement through the use of technology.
3. Partnerships built on the spirit of international cooperation.

MISSION STATEMENT

The International Ice Patrol will monitor iceberg danger near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and provide the limits of all known ice to the maritime community.

VISION STATEMENT

Eliminate the risk of iceberg collision.

OUR OPERATIONS

The U.S. Coast Guard formally begins its seasonal ice observation and Ice Patrol service whenever icebergs threaten primary shipping routes between Europe and the U.S. and Canada. This usually occurs in the month of February and the threat usually extends through July, but the Ice Patrol is flexible and commences operations when iceberg conditions dictate. The 1992 season, the longest on record, ran from March 7th through September 26th, 203 days. Except during unusually heavy ice years, the Grand Banks are normally iceberg free from August through January.

The activities of the International Ice Patrol are delineated by treaty and U.S. law to encompass only those ice regions of the North Atlantic Ocean through which the major trans-Atlantic tracks pass. There remain other areas of ice danger where shipping must exercise extreme caution. A tragic example of this occurred on January 30, 1959 when S.S. HANSHEDTOFT struck an iceberg about 40 miles south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. On her maiden voyage, this ship, equipped with latest in electronic aids, sank without a trace, taking with it the 95 passengers and crew on board.

Fixed wing Coast Guard aircraft conduct the primary reconnaissance work for the Ice Patrol. Ice reconnaissance flights are made on the average of five days every other week during the ice season. The mainstay of the Ice Patrol flights for the past 20 years has been the Hercules HC-130 aircraft. The usual patrol time for these long range multi-engine planes is between 5 to 7 hours, with each flight covering an expanse of water of 30,000 square miles or more. The International Ice Patrol began using the HU-25B Falcons for reconnaissance flights in 1987. The Falcons are perodically used at the beginning and end of the ice season when the limits of ice may not be extreme, since the patrol time of the Falcon is not as long as the HC-130. Information concerning ice conditions is collected primarily from air surveillance flights and ships operating in or passing through the ice area. Ships are requested to report the position and time of all ice sighted and make sea surface temperature and weather reports to the International Ice Patrol Operations Center in Groton, CT, every 6 hours when in the vicinity of the Grand Banks.

All the iceberg data are fed into a computer model at the IIP Operations Center along with ocean current and wind data. Using this information, the model predicts the drift of the icebergs. Every 12 hours, the predicted iceberg locations are used to estimate the limit of all known ice. This limit, along with a few of the more critical predicted iceberg locations, is broadcast as an "Ice Bulletin" from radio stations around the U.S., Canada, Europe and over the World Wide Web. This is for the benefit of all vessels transiting North Atlantic. In addition to the Ice Bulletin, a radio facsimile chart of the area, depicting the limits of all known ice, is also broadcast twice daily.

Except for the years of the two World Wars, the International Ice Patrol has conducted each season since 1913. During the period the Ice Patrol has amassed an enviable safety record with not a single reported loss of life or property due to collision with an iceberg by ships that have heeded Ice Patrol warnings. However, the potential for a catastrophe still exists.