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.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/149372
for ice-covered waters. Should a maritime mishap occur in the icy Arctic waters, search and rescue controllers have only "liquid-water" search performance data available to guide search pattern assignments for response craft. The RDC is addressing this SAR planning data gap by conducting mission-realistic search performance tests in the Great Lakes during winter weather conditions to develop a preliminary set of search planning data for Coast Guard helicopters and airboats searching ice-covered waters. A "polar bear" skimmer is deployed from USCGC Sycamore during an Arctic Shield 2012 exercise. U.S. Coast Guard photos. Participants included crew from the Coast Guard buoy tender Hollyhock, three commercial tugboats, more than 50 personnel from multiple state and federal agencies, the Canadian government, and oil spill removal organizations. Lessons learned were evaluated, and the technologies were again demonstrated as a part of the Arctic Shield 2012 spilled oil recovery system exercise in August 2012, off of Barrow, Alaska. Another collaborative feld demonstration in the Great Lakes incorporating a unifed command occurred in February of 2013, along with plans for a more extensive demonstration in the Arctic in September of 2013. Search and Rescue Challenges At this time, the Coast Guard has no data on appropriate search swipe widths to assist search and rescue (SAR) mission controllers in developing search plans Response Asset Assessment The Research and Development Center continues to address Arctic capability gaps by investigating response craft and cutter boats capable of operating in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The results document a search of all types of craft for potential use in the Arctic.2 Based on these fndings, the Coast Guard invited industry to propose solutions that would then be brought up to the waters off Barrow, Alaska, to demonstrate their ability to meet the Coast Guard's needs. Two craft, selected from a feld of industry proposals were tested, and the RDC delivered a report on the results in 2012. Looking Forward Continuing Arctic challenges include safe natural resource development, protecting wildlife and fsh stocks, supporting safe shipping tourism, and ensuring food security for the indigenous communities. We are witnessing environmental and ecosystem changes in this region, demonstrating its fragile nature. Support for Arctic science has been an important part of Coast Guard missions, and the demand for From left, the USCG Research and Development Center demonstrates the ARKTOS, a two-hulled articulated amphibious evacuation vehicle, and a Coast Guard special purpose craft air boat. 78 Proceedings Summer 2013 www.uscg.mil/proceedings