USCG issues a strategy for future Arctic operations by the agency
Having ramped up its operations in recent Arctic open water seasons, as vessel traffic and industrial activity in the region increases and sea ice diminishes, the U.S. Coast Guard has published a strategy for the agency’s future Arctic presence.
“This document is a theater strategy for the U.S. Coast Guard’s operations in the Arctic region,” the introduction to the strategy says. “It is not an implementation plan. This strategy will guide efforts to accomplish organizational objectives in the region by leveraging the Coast Guard’s unique capabilities, authorities and partnerships.”
The strategy sets out three primary goals: improving the Coast Guard’s awareness of what is happening in Arctic waters, modernizing the governance of Arctic maritime activities and broadening the partnerships needed to meet Arctic challenges.
Arctic awareness To achieve its goal of improved Arctic awareness the Coast Guard says that it will advocate for the establishment of an “Arctic Fusion Center,” an interagency entity for coordinating government agency activities, to enable sustainable development and environmental protection. The Coast Guard will also optimize Arctic communications and maritime tracking technologies by expanding and strengthening partnerships with various entities, including local, state and national governments; academia; industry; and other non-governmental organizations.
The enhanced collection and assembly of Arctic maritime information will entail initiatives such as improved data collection and the deployment of portable surveillance sensor packages “at critical geographic choke points,” on board offshore drilling infrastructure and on Coast Guard assets, the strategy says.
Improved Arctic awareness will also require an effective Coast Guard presence, including “an adaptable mix of cutters, boats, aircraft (including unmanned aerial systems) and shore infrastructure to enable effective seasonal operations,” the strategy says.
Modernizing governance Modernizing Arctic governance will involve cooperation and coordination with governments and government agencies, within the United States and internationally, to ensure an effective governance regime that can protect the environment and preserve marine resources while also protecting U.S. sovereignty, the strategy says. The Coast Guard sees the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea as a critical legal framework for marine governance: The agency wants to see U.S. ratification of this international treaty. The agency is also assessing the formation of an international Coast Guard group and an international forum, as a means of achieving international coordination.
The protection of U.S. sovereignty will include the protection of infrastructure associated with energy development in the Arctic offshore, with the sharing of information in private-public partnerships being needed for the Coast Guard to maintain a knowledge of infrastructure-related risks, the strategy says.
Broadening partnerships By broadening its partnerships with other Arctic stakeholders, including Alaska Natives, industry and academia, the Coast Guard wants to be better positioned to advance its role in the Arctic, on the assumption that a network of partnerships will be essential in dealing with the security and environmental challenges that the Arctic faces. The agency hopes to establish an “Arctic Center of Expertise” in the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, for the advancement of safe and responsible activity in the Arctic region. And the strategy says that the Coast Guard supports a whole-of-government national approach, including an engagement with federally recognized tribes, for finding collaborative and coordinated solutions to Arctic issues.
Coast Guard success in the Arctic will depend on recognition of the Arctic region as a national U.S. priority, with a unified approach within the Department of Homeland Security for the oversight of the Arctic region, the strategy says. Increased human activity in the Arctic will place increasing demands on the Coast Guard, and the strategy outlines several Coast Guard needs to enable the agency to fulfill its future Arctic role. Those needs include additional icebreakers and long-range patrol vessels; and international agreements, such as the recently signed agreement for cooperation over oil spill prevention and response.
Meantime, the Coast Guard anticipates a continuation of its current policy of forward deploying assets into the Arctic during periods of peak activity, using both mobile assets and existing shore-based infrastructure, the strategy says.
—Alan Bailey
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