International Ice Patrol

Most people have never heard of the International Ice Patrol, and neither did I, until I joined the U.S. Coast Guard. However, the organization was established in 1914 in response to the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

From the earliest journeys into the North Atlantic, icebergs have threatened vessels. An impressive number of casualties occurred in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. In 1833, the Lady of the Lake, sank with 215 lives lost. Between 1882 and 1890, 14 vessels were lost and 40 seriously damaged due to ice. This does not include the large number of whaling and fishing vessels lost or damaged by ice.

However, it took one of the greatest marine disasters of all time to arouse attention to the fact icebergs were a hazard and something needed to be done about this marine hazard. The sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, was the prime reason for the establishment of the International Ice Patrol.

On her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, bound for New York, Titanic collided with an iceberg 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. The Titanic disaster created sufficient public reaction on both sides of the Atlantic to prod governments into action, producing talks about monitoring icebergs in the Atlantic.

Today, the International Ice Patrol monitors the presence of icebergs in the Atlantic, and Arctic oceans and reports their movements for safety purposes to mariners. It is operated by the United States Coast Guard but is funded by 13 different nations interested in trans-Atlantic navigation. As of 2011, the governments contributing to the International Ice Patrol include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

At the first International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea, which convened in London on November 12, 1913, the subject of patrolling the ice regions was thoroughly discussed. Due primarily to the experience gained in 1912 and 1913, the United States Government was invited to undertake the management of the ice service, and the expense was to be defrayed by the 13 nations interested in trans-Atlantic navigation.

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

This is where I first learned of the International Ice Patrol and what they do. I was assigned to U.S. Coast Guard Air Station, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in April 1997. My job was to fly in a Coast Guard HC-130 from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and there we would pick up another air crew, and equipment, then fly to St. John’s Newfoundland. Then we would fly for two weeks in the North Atlantic surveying icebergs, and my job was to film icebergs, and locations of icebergs. This information is disseminated to The U.S. Coast Guard Communications Command located in Chesapeake, Virginia. They broadcast that information via Inmarsat SafetyNet, and radio.

International Ice Patrol information is also available via internet access.

During the 1997 operation, I shot video that was then pooled to NBC Nightly news with Dan Rather, and he ran my Coast Guard video on April 15, 1997, as a tie-in with the introduction of the movie ‘Titanic,” which was released that year. He also ran video of our wreath-laying ceremony from the back of a
HC-130 over the longitude and latitude where the Titanic sank.

I flew on the June 1997 mission to St. John’s, Newfoundland as well. It was a very interesting mission because we fly very low over the icebergs, and it can be very foggy, and dangerous. We drop dye markers on the icebergs, so we know which ones we have tracked, and then report their locations back to NOAA.

Today the International Ice Patrol is located at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. The ice reconnaissance detachment, usually comprised of eleven aircrew, and four ice observers flying in an HC-130 aircraft, continues to work out of St. Johns, Newfoundland.