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USCG starts 2011 Arctic awareness flights
On March 22 the U.S. Coast Guard conducted the first of its 2011 Arctic awareness flights, with its Kodiak-based HC-130 Hercules aircraft flying up to the Beaufort Sea and monitoring sea-ice conditions north of Prudhoe Bay.
Each year the Coast Guard conducts these flights every two weeks between March and November, surveying sea ice, monitoring vessel traffic and identifying any challenges that the Coast Guard may face in the Arctic region. The flights also provide opportunities to test Coast Guard capabilities, in terms of personnel and equipment, including the testing of airborne imaging equipment that can help identify hazards along Alaska’s Arctic coast, the Coast Guard says.
Three exercises planned The March 22 flight marks the start of planned Coast Guard Arctic activities for 2011, including three exercises involving the state and local communities in practices of search and rescue; pollution response; towing operations; and mass casualty response, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard is also involved in boating safety outreach; commercial fishing vessel safety exams; and port assessments. In addition, having established a new navigation aid at Point Hope on the Chukchi Sea coast in 2010, the Coast Guard plans to install another navigation aid at Point Barrow this year.
—Alan Bailey
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