Canadian Coast Guard begins 2024 Arctic summer season

Press Release

From: Canadian Coast Guard

July 8, 2024

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories – The Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) annual Arctic summer operational season is underway. In total, seven CCG icebreakers are scheduled to deploy from June into November to support northern communities, operational and program commitments, and sovereignty in the Arctic.

• June 16 – CCGS Amundsen departed Quebec City, QC, for icebreaking in Frobisher Bay and Hudson Strait, and science led by Amundsen Science.
• June 20 – CCGS Des Groseilliers departed Quebec City, QC, for icebreaking, refueling the Killiniq communication station and the remote Eureka weather station, commissioning aids to navigation in the Hudson Strait, and Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) surveys.
• July 1 – CCGS Pierre Radisson departed Quebec City, QC, for icebreaking, science missions and Operation Pacer Goose, the annual resupply of U.S. Pituffik Space Base in Greenland.
• July 10  – CCGS Henry Larsen departs St John’s, N.L., for icebreaking in the western Arctic and CHS surveys in Hudson Bay.
• July 10 – CCGS Vincent Massey departs Quebec City, QC, for icebreaking in the eastern and central Arctic.
• July 13 – CCGS Jean Goodwill departs Dartmouth, N.S., for icebreaking in the Low and High Arctic.
• August 14 – CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent departs St. John’s, N.L., for icebreaking and the Joint Ocean Ice Study scientific mission in the Beaufort Sea.

CCG ships and their dedicated crews are ready to assist the shipping industry during the annual Arctic resupply. Safe and efficient navigation in Arctic waters is maintained throughout the shipping season by providing daily updates on ice conditions and operations, as well as ice escorts, when needed, to industry and partners.

CCG’s seasonal Marine Communication and Traffic Services (MCTS) centre in Iqaluit, NU, opened on May 17, 2024. In the Arctic, MCTS officers play a crucial role in ensuring safe navigation in the region; they respond to maritime distress calls, manage the Northern Canada Vessel Traffic Services Zone Regulations (NORDREG), broadcast weather and ice information, and provide navigational warnings. MCTS Iqaluit will remain open until mid-December 2024, at which time NORDREG services will be provided by the MCTS centre in Les Escoumins, QC, until the Iqaluit centre reopens in 2025.

Throughout the summer season, federal government and academic researchers, scientists, and hydrographers will join CCG ships to carry out new and ongoing scientific projects and hydrographic surveys. CCG will also carry out joint training operations with national and international Arctic partners.

As schedules and opportunities permit, crews will engage in training and equipment familiarization with Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliaries, such as search and rescue, and marine environmental and hazards response activities. Such opportunities allow crews and communities to build relationships and exchange maritime knowledge.

The Government of Canada is committed to maritime safety, providing essential services to mariners, and ensuring the health and safety of all Canadians. The CCG’s annual Arctic icebreaking season allows the safe and efficient movement of vessels and goods in northern waters, which is key to community resupply. CCG’s presence in Canada’s North also provides key services, such as search and rescue, support for scientific research, marine communications and traffic services, aids to navigation, and marine environmental and hazards response. The Compliance and Enforcement program will continue to monitor vessels that may pose hazards and will continue to work with owners to ensure risks are mitigated.

Quick facts

• The CCG’s Arctic Marine Response Station in Rankin Inlet, NU, reopened on June 21, 2024, to provide local maritime search and rescue services during the summer season. The Arctic Marine Response Station first opened in 2018 under the Oceans Protection Plan, establishing it as the first Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue facility in the Arctic.
• The CCG Marine Environmental and Hazards Response and Compliance and Enforcement teams maintain a permanent, full-time presence in the Arctic, with bases in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and Yellowknife and Hay River, Northwest Territories.
• The CCG works closely and trains with communities and the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary across the Arctic in search and rescue efforts. The Auxiliary are an essential part of the search and rescue system in the Arctic, with trained personnel who have extensive knowledge of specific risks in local waterways and areas across the region. Auxiliary units enhance capacity and capability for search and rescue in the Arctic.
• Navigational products released by the CHS provide essential maritime information to support safe and efficient navigation in the Arctic. This year, CHS hydrographers will sail aboard four CCG icebreakers to conduct survey work and increase the amount of sea floor surveyed in the Arctic.

Related products

• News Release (Inuktitut)

Associated links

• Transport Canada’s Safe Boating Guide
• Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
• Start Your Career With the Canadian Coast Guard
• Protecting our coasts through the Oceans Protection Plan
• Stronger partnerships with Indigenous and coastal communities

Contacts
Media Relations
Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Arctic Region
204-984-4715
XCA.Media@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

ILR6