The International Ice Patrol is an organization with the purpose of monitoring the presence

of icebergs in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and reporting their movements for safety
purposes. It is operated by United States Coast Guard but is funded by the 13 nations
interested in trans-Atlantic navigation.

Founded in the wake of the RMS Titanic disaster, the Ice Patrol has been active since 1913.
During this period, the Ice Patrol has amassed an enviable safety record. No vessel that has
heeded the Ice Patrol’s published iceberg limit has collided with an iceberg.

Ice Patrol and the Canadian Ice Service (CIS) issue one daily iceberg analysis under the
North American Ice Service (NAIS), a collaborative agreement to unify North American ice
information and improve service to mariners. The iceberg analysis is published in text
bulletins and a graphical chart by 0000Z and when changing conditions require a revision.

1. When was the International Ice Patrol formed?

North Atlantic shipping lanes have always been hazardous to navigate and captured global
attention in April 1912 when the RMS Titanic sank after it struck an iceberg. The incident
prompted maritime nations with ships transiting the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, Canada,
to establish an iceberg patrol in the area. Since 1913, the U.S. Coast Guard has been tasked
with the management and operation of the patrol. Except for the years of World Wars I and
II, the ice patrol has been active each ice season since its inception.

2. What are the specific duties of the ice patrol?

Their mission is to monitor the iceberg danger near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and
provide the iceberg limit to the maritime community, including ice and current conditions.

3. Who makes up the ice patrol?

The ice patrol is a U.S. Coast Guard unit however the Canadian Ice Service, ice patrol and
U.S. National Ice Center collaborate under the North American Ice Service. The ice patrol
produces North American Ice service reports from February through July when icebergs may
be present on the Grand Banks and the Canadian Ice Service produces the reports the rest of
the year when icebergs are normally restricted to Canadian coastal waters.

4. Why aren’t there ice patrols in other areas other than the Grand Banks?

This is the only location in the world where icebergs endanger a major shipping route, and
the ice patrol provides accurate and timely iceberg information to assist transatlantic mariners
in avoiding them. Maritime traffic between Europe and North America typically follows
routes that are intersected annually by an average of 500 icebergs.

5. What defines an “ice season” and when is it?

The ice season is the seasonal period when icebergs can be present on the Grand Banks. The
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea defines the “ice season” as the period
between February 15 and July 1, however the commander of the ice patrol can extend the
period based on conditions.
6. What is the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea?

SOLAS – or the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea – is generally regarded as
the most important of international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. The first
version was adopted in 1914, in response to the sinking of the Titanic. The main objective of
SOLAS is to specify minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of
ships, compatible with their safety.

7. How did the Coast Guard patrol for icebergs in the past?

Iceberg detection in the past relied on visual sightings from boats on patrol in the area. As
airplane performance improved however, the ice patrol integrated airplanes into
reconnaissance operations and after 1960, surface patrol craft took a secondary role to aerial
reconnaissance.

8. How does the Coast Guard patrol for icebergs now?

Iceberg reconnaissance is conducted primarily with aircrews from Air Station Elizabeth City,
N.C., in an HC-130J Hercules airplane, the perfect platform for their mission. Using the
airplane’s specialized sensors, radar and visual observations are employed for iceberg
detection and identification.

9. Why do modern vessels still need the ice patrol?

The seas where the North Atlantic shipping lanes pass near the Grand Banks are particularly
challenging for mariners due to frequent fog and high seas. The combination can make it
extremely difficult for even a modern vessel to detect an iceberg and avoid it. If there were no
ice patrol, vessels would have to reduce risk of collision by either slowing speed considerably
or avoiding the Grand Banks entirely. Every additional sea mile or hour adds to
transportation costs and delivery time. In this age of “just in time” delivery, longer and more
costly voyages equal higher costs and higher prices for consumers.

10. Are icebergs really still a danger?

As recently as 2010, a vessel ignoring the ice patrol’s warnings collided with an iceberg.
Fortunately the damage was not catastrophic and the vessel was able to divert to a safe port.
The vessel required considerable hull repairs and was unable to return to sea for some time.
No vessel heeding ice patrol’s warnings has ever collided with an iceberg.

The International Ice Patrol is an organization with the purpose of monitoring the presence
of icebergs in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and reporting their movements for safety
purposes. It is operated by United States Coast Guard but is funded by the 13 nations
interested in trans-Atlantic navigation. As of 2011 the governments contributing to the
International Ice Patrol include Belgium, Canada (see Canadian Ice Service), Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland,
Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[1]
The organization was established in 1914 in response to the sinking of RMS Titanic. The
primary mission of the Ice Patrol is to monitor the iceberg danger in the North Atlantic Ocean
and provide relevant iceberg warning products to the maritime community

History
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 20th century shows an impressive number
of casualties occurred in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. For example,
Lady of the Lake 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 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 RMS Titanic on 15 April 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 flagship of the White Star Line, was the largest passenger
liner of her time displacing 45,000 tons and capable of sustained speed in excess of 22 knots
(41 km/h). The loss of Titanic gripped the world with a sobering 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) convention in 1914.

After the Titanic disaster, the U.S. Navy assigned the cruisers USS Chester and
USS Birmingham to patrol the Grand Banks of Newfoundland for the remainder of 1912. In
1913, the United States Navy could not spare ships for this purpose, so the Revenue Cutter
Service (forerunner of the United States Coast Guard) assumed responsibility, assigning
USRC Seneca and USRC Miami to conduct the patrol.

At the first International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea, which was convened in
London on 12 November 1913, the subject of patrolling the ice regions was thoroughly
discussed. The convention signed on 30 January 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.
USCGC Champlain on patrol in the mid-1930s

The second International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea was convened in London on 16
April 1929. Eighteen nations participated, all of which signed the final act on 31 May 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 7 August 1936,
and even then the ratification was accompanied by three reservations. At the same time,
Congress enacted legislation on 25 June 1936, formally requiring the Commandant of the
Coast Guard 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.

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 15 April. The solemn
ceremony is attended by the craft's crew and a dedication statement to the Titanic and her
fatalities is read.[3][4][5]

Administration

patch International Ice Patrol

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 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[6] where they remained until October 1983.

Today the International Ice Patrol is located at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in
Suitland, Maryland. Previously, it was located at the Coast Guard Research and Development
Center in New London, Connecticut. The ice reconnaissance detachment, usually composed
of eleven aircrew and four ice observers flying in an HC-130 aircraft, continues to work out
of Newfoundland.

The Ice Patrol disseminates information on icebergs and the limit of all known sea ice via
radio broadcast from the U.S. Coast Guard Communications Command (COMMCOM)
located in Chesapeake, Virginia via Inmarsat Safetynet, and radio facsimile chart. Ice Patrol
information is also available via internet access. 2002 changes to SOLAS requires ships
transiting the region guarded by the Ice Patrol to use the services provided during the ice
season.