International Ice Patrol
Encyclopedia
The International Ice Patrol is an organization with the purpose of monitoring the presence of iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...

s in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 and Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

s and reporting their movements for safety purposes. It is operated by United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 but is funded by the 13 nations interested in trans-Atlantic navigation.

It was established in 1914 in response to the sinking of the RMS Titanic. According to the Patrol's Deputy Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Gabrielle McGrath, "The primary mission of the Ice Patrol is to alert any seacraft traveling the great circle
Great circle
A great circle, also known as a Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a plane which passes through the center point of the sphere, as opposed to a general circle of a sphere where the plane is not required to pass through the center...

 shipping lanes between Europe and the major ports of the United States and Canada of the presence of any icebergs there."

Founding

From the earliest journeys into the North Atlantic, icebergs have threatened vessels. A review of the history of navigation prior to the turn of the century shows an impressive number of casualties occurred in the vicinity of the Grand Banks
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...

. For example, the Lady of the Lake
Lady of the Lake (brig)
The Lady of the Lake was an Aberdeen-built brig that sank off Newfoundland in 1833 with the loss of approximately 215 passengers and crew. The vessel was en route to Quebec from Belfast after departing April 8, 1833 with a total of 230 on board....

 sank in 1833 with a loss of 215 people. Between 1882 and 1890, 14 vessels were lost and 40 seriously damaged due to ice. This does not include the large number of whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 and fishing vessels lost or damaged by ice. It took one of the greatest marine disasters of all time to arouse public demand for international cooperative action to deal with this marine hazard. This disaster, the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, was the prime impetus for the establishment of the International Ice Patrol.

On her maiden voyage from Southampton, England bound for New York, Titanic collided with an iceberg just south of the tail of the Grand Banks and sank in less than three hours. The loss of life was enormous with more than 1,500 of the 2,224 passengers and crew perishing. Titanic, the brand new ship of the White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...

, was the largest passenger liner of its time displacing 45,000 tons and capable of sustained speed in excess of 22 knots (43 km/h). Loss of Titanic gripped the world with a chilling awareness of an iceberg's potential for tragedy. The sheer dimensions of the Titanic disaster created sufficient public reaction on both sides of the Atlantic to prod reluctant governments into action, producing the first Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea is an international maritime safety treaty. The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.- History :The first version of the...

) convention in 1914.

After the Titanic disaster, the U.S. Navy assigned the cruisers Chester
USS Chester (CL-1)
USS Chester of the United States Navy was a light cruiser, the first to be so designated.She was launched on 26 June 1907 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, sponsored by Miss D. W. Sproul, and commissioned on 25 April 1908, Commander H. B. Wilson in command...

and Birmingham
USS Birmingham (CL-2)
USS Birmingham , named for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, was a laid down by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company at Quincy, Massachusetts on 14 August 1905; launched on 29 May 1907; sponsored by Mrs L...

to patrol the Grand Banks for the remainder of 1912. In 1913, the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 could not spare ships for this purpose, so the Revenue Cutter Service (forerunner of the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

) assumed responsibility, assigning the Cutters Seneca and Miami to conduct the patrol.

At the first International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea, which was convened in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 on November 12, 1913, the subject of patrolling the ice regions was thoroughly discussed. The convention signed on January 30, 1914, by the representatives of the world's various maritime powers, provided for the inauguration of an international derelict-destruction, ice observation, and ice patrol service, consisting of vessels, which should patrol the ice regions during the season of iceberg danger and attempt to keep the trans-Atlantic lanes clear of derelicts during the remainder of the year. Due primarily to the experience gained in 1912 and 1913, the United States Government was invited to undertake the management of the triple service, the expense to be defrayed by the 13 nations interested in trans-Atlantic navigation.

The second International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea was convened in London on April 16, 1929. Eighteen nations participated, all of which signed the final act on May 31, 1929. Because of the fear in the United States Senate as a result of ambiguities in Article 54 dealing with control, the 1929 convention was not ratified by the United States until August 7, 1936, and even then the ratification was accompanied by three reservations. At the same time, Congress enacted legislation on June 25, 1936, formally requiring the Commandant of the Coast Guard
Commandant of the Coast Guard
The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard is the highest ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The Commandant is normally the only four-star Admiral in the Coast Guard and is appointed for a four-year term by the President of the United States upon confirmation by the United...

 to administer the International Ice Observation and Ice Patrol Service (Chap. 807, para. 2 49 USC 1922) and describing in general fashion the manner in which this service was to be performed. With only minor changes, this remains today as the basic Coast Guard authority to operate the International Ice Patrol. Since 1929, there have been three SOLAS conventions (1948, 1960 & 1974). None of these have recommended any basic change affecting the Ice Patrol.

The thirteen nations signatory to the 1915 SOLAS Convention agreed to share costs in accordance with a formula approximating their degree of individual benefit. This sharing arrangement has been updated over the years as shipping patterns changed and as additional nations acceded to the treaty. Financial relations are handled by the Department of State which does the actual billing of each nation for its share of the cost. In the early days this share was a fixed percentage changed infrequently by treaty revision. In recent years, the cost share has been based on each participating nations percentage of the total cargo tonnage transiting the patrol area during the ice season.

Every year since 1914, the United States Coast Guard and the International Ice Patrol lay a wreath from a ship or an aircraft at the site of the Titanic disaster on April 15th. The solemn ceremony is attended by the craft's crew and a dedication statement to the Titanic and her lost passengers is read.

Administration

From its inception until the beginning of World War II, the Ice Patrol was conducted from two surface patrol cutters alternating surveillance patrols of the southern ice limits. In 1931 and thereafter a third ship was assigned to Ice Patrol to perform oceanographic observations in the vicinity of the Grand Banks. After World War II, aerial surveillance became the primary ice reconnaissance method with surface patrols phased out except during unusually heavy ice years or extended periods of reduced visibility. Use of the oceanographic vessel continued until 1982, when the Coast Guard's sole remaining oceanographic ship, USCGC Evergreen, was converted to a medium endurance cutter. The aircraft has distinct advantages for ice reconnaissance providing much greater coverage in a relatively short period of time.

From 1946 until 1966, the Ice Patrol offices, operations center and reconnaissance aircraft were based at the Coast Guard Air Detachment Argentia, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

 during the ice season.

Due to changing operational commitments and financial constraints the Coast Guard Argentia Air Detachment closed in 1966. Ice Patrol headquarters and operations center moved to Governors Island, New York where they remained until October 1983.

Today the International Ice Patrol is located at the Coast Guard Research and Development Center in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....

. Headquarters for the International Ice Patrol is located at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...

's Avery Point campus in Groton. The ice reconnaissance detachment, usually composed of eleven aircrew and four ice observers flying in a HC-130
HC-130
The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue and Combat search and rescue version of the C-130 Hercules transport. The HC-130H and HC-130J versions are operated by the United States Coast Guard in a SAR and maritime reconnaissance role. The HC-130P and HC-130N Combat King models...

 aircraft, continues to work out of Newfoundland.

The Ice Patrol disseminates information on ice bergs and the limit of all know sea ice via radio broadcast from Coast Guard radio station NIK at COGARD CAMSLANT CHESAPEAKE, via Inmarsat Safetynet, and radio facsimile chart. Ice Patrol information is also available via http Internet access.
2002 changes to SOLAS requires ships transiting the region guarded by the Ice Patrol to use the services provides during the ice season.

Aviation History of the International Ice Patrol

  • 6 February 1946 - A PBY-5A
    PBY Catalina
    The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...

     makes the first International Ice Patrol reconnaissance flight.
  • 24 February 1946 - Two PB4Y-1s
    B-24 Liberator
    The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

     arrive in Argentia, Newfoundland to become the first dedicated Ice Patrol aircraft.
  • 01 July 1946 - First helicopter deployments in International Ice Patrol. An HNS-1 helicopter, Sikorsky R-4
    Sikorsky R-4
    The Sikorsky R-4 was a two-place helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter to enter service with the United States Army Air Forces, Navy, and...

    , CGNR 39047, flew from USCGC Northwind (WAGB-282) off the Greenland
    Greenland
    Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

     coast. The pilot was Aviation Pilot First Class John A Olsen, USCG; USCG Aviator Number 646, AMM1 Richard A. Dowst, USCG flew as observer.
  • 1947 - The PB1G becomes the Ice Patrol aircraft.
  • 1948 - Camera-equipped PB1G begins an iceberg census off Baffin Island completed in 1949.
  • 1949 - Aircraft become the sole reconnaissance tools for the first time.
  • 1956 - Unsuccessful tests to identify icebergs by marking with dye markers, commercial dye, and used motor oil.
  • 1958 - Last ice patrol by a PB1G.
  • 1959 - R5Ds
    C-54 Skymaster
    The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...

     replace PB1Gs.
  • June 1959 - Unsuccessful iceberg demolition experiments with magnesium
    Magnesium
    Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

     and thermite
    Thermite
    Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder and a metal oxide that produces an exothermic oxidation-reduction reaction known as a thermite reaction. If aluminium is the reducing agent it is called an aluminothermic reaction...

     incendiary bombs.
  • May 1960 - Unsuccessful iceberg demolition experiments dropping high-explosive bombs from UF2G
    HU-16 Albatross
    The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large twin-radial engine amphibious flying boat that was utilized by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, primarily as a search and rescue and combat search and rescue aircraft...

    .
  • 24 May 1962 - First Ice Patrol by HC-130B
    C-130 Hercules
    The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

    .
  • 1963 - R5Ds replaced by Doppler Navigation System equipped HC-130Bs.
  • 1964 - First successful use of Airborne radiation thermometer to detect changes in surface water temperature.
  • 1967 - First use of microwave radiometer
    Microwave radiometer
    A microwave radiometer is a radiometer that measures energy emitted at sub-millimetre-to-centimetre wavelengths known as microwaves. Their primary application has been onboard spacecraft measuring atmospheric and terrestrial radiation, and they are mostly used for meteorological or oceanographic...

     to differentiate RADAR
    Radar
    Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

     contacts as ship or iceberg.
  • 30 April 1970 - The ice reconnaissance detachment moved from Argentia to CFB Summerside
    CFB Summerside
    Canadian Forces Base Summerside was an air force base located in St. Eleanors, Prince Edward Island, Canada, now part of the city of Summerside.-RCAF Station Summerside:...

     in Prince Edward Island
    Prince Edward Island
    Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

    .
  • 1971 - Side-looking airborne RADAR evaluation began.
  • 1973 - Inertial Navigation System
    Inertial navigation system
    An inertial navigation system is a navigation aid that uses a computer, motion sensors and rotation sensors to continuously calculate via dead reckoning the position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object without the need for external references...

     installed on Ice Patrol aircraft.
  • 1973 - The ice reconnaissance detachment moved to St. John's, Newfoundland.
  • 1982 - The ice reconnaissance detachment relocated to Gander, Newfoundland.
  • 1989 - The ice reconnaissance detachment moved back to St. John's, Newfoundland.

Command

The current commander of the IIP is Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 Scott Rogerson.

On July 13, 2007, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 Gabrielle McGrath relieved Lt. Cmdr. Byron Willeford as Executive Officer. Lt. Cmdr. McGrath is the first woman to serve in this position.

Funding

It receives funding of around US$5.9 million from the following governments:
  • Belgium
    Belgium
    Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

  • Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

  • Denmark
    Denmark
    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

  • Finland
    Finland
    Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

  • France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

  • Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

  • Greece
    Greece
    Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

  • Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

  • Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

  • Netherlands
    Netherlands
    The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

  • Norway
    Norway
    Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

  • Panama
    Panama
    Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

  • Poland
    Poland
    Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

  • Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

  • Sweden
    Sweden
    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

  • United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

  • United States of America


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK