Proceedings Of The Marine

SUM 2013

Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.

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hasbeenveryactiveinspearheadingeffortsto ensurecoordinationisgearedtowardthemost pressing Arctic threats. Arctic Council oil spill task force members meet in Girdwood, Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Offcer David Mosley. alsosharesanoverlappingdefensemissionwiththe DOD services. To exercise these relationships and build teamwork, the Coast Guard participates in numerousexerciseswithDODtoassessassetcapabilities,testhowtobestintegrateourresponse,and leverage different restrictions on mission, response, andfunding. Additionally,DODandtheCoastGuardhavepartneredregardinglong-termrequirements.Ajointly convened Arctic capabilities working group conductedanassessmenttoidentifyoverlappingneeds intheArctic.Theworkinggroupidentifedfourareas forfurtherworkandcollaboration:communications, maritime domain awareness, presence, and infrastructure. Severalexercisesexecutedfrom2011to2012addressed issuesconcerningfutureoperationsintheArctic.For instance,U.S.NorthernCommandledArtemis Polaris, anexercisedesignedtochartmethodsbywhichDOD couldbestassistinamassrescueoperationoramajor oilspill,accountingforthedifferinglegalandfscal authoritiesthatapply.Futuremulti-agencyexercises that test Coast Guard capabilities in the Arctic, interoperabilitywithDODforces,andsharedmaritimedomainawarenesswillmostcertainlyinclude UnitedStatesNorthAmericanAerospaceDefense Command,UnitedStatesNorthernCommand,and JointTaskForceAlaska. Arctic Council and the Arctic Nations TheArcticCouncilisaninternationalbodycomprised oftheeightArcticnations:theUnitedStates,Canada, theRussianFederation, Iceland,Sweden,Finland, Norway,andDenmark.Thecouncilalsoofferspermanentseatstoorganizationsthatrepresentindigenous peoples,suchastheInuitCircumpolarCouncil,and 58 Proceedings Summer 2013 Forexample,in2011,theArcticCouncilconcludedasearchandrescue(SAR)agreement toimprovecoordinationinArcticrescues.All eightArcticnationsconcludedthislegallybinding agreement, opening the door for future internationalcooperation.Additionally,since theUnitedStateshasnotyetjoinedtheU.N. ConventiononLawofSea,theArcticCouncilis oneofthefewmultilateralvenuesavailablefor theUnitedStatestofullyaddressArcticissues inaninternationalforum. FollowingthesuccessoftheSARagreementnegotiations,theArcticCouncilcharteredaseparatetask force to negotiate an agreement to improve coordination among the Arctic nations regarding preparedness andresponsetomarineoilpollutionincidents.The DepartmentofStaterepresentedtheUnitedStatesas oneofthetaskforce'sco-chairs,andtheCoastGuard ledtheU.S.delegation.Thetaskforceconcludedan agreementundertheauthorityandauspicesofthe ArcticCouncil,whichisawaitingcouncilratifcation asofthiswriting.1 TheU.S.CoastGuardalsomaintainsbilateralagreementsandarrangementswithAlaska'sneighbors: CanadaandRussia.Wehavestrongrelationswith theCanadianCoastGuardandtheRussianFederationStateMarinePollutionControlSalvageandRescue Administration, and exercise our agreements andrelationshipsregularly.Assuch,theU.S.Coast GuardparticipatedinabilateralCanadian-ledArctic logisticstabletopexerciseinAugust2012,aswellas abilateralRussian-ledcommunicationsexercisein September2012.TheUSCGplanstocontinuethese relationshipsindefnitelyandisplanning2013and 2014exercisesandoperations. State, Tribal, and Local Governments TheCoastGuard'spartnershipwiththestateofAlaska oncontingencyplanningandresponseiscrucialto futuresuccess.Alaskaboastsawealthofexpertise in oil spill response, stemming from its experience in combatingoilspillslikethe1989Exxon Valdez spill in PrinceWilliamSound.Thestatealsohasauniqueand establishedrelationshipwiththelocalandindigenous peoples. Totestreadiness,thestateofAlaskawillleadAlaska Shield 2014, amajorexercisethatwillfocusonsouthwww.uscg.mil/proceedings

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