2012-08-03 Coast Guard Cutter Sycamore crewmembers deploy the cutter’s Spilled Oil Recovery System equipment near Barrow, Alaska, to conduct training on the ship’s built-in spill recovery gear July 31, 2012
The SORS equipment is a vital asset to the Coast Guard’s Marine Environmental Protection mission and is being deployed as part of multi-day preparedness exercise focused on safely dealing with hazardous materials spills in the Arctic maritime environment.
The US Coast Guard will conduct a large exercise in the Arctic this summer
Credit: U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelly Parker.
For a look at USCG arctic related activities please go to the following:
Among other things, fisheries are very important there, and much of the Coast Guard’s work includes managing the fishing grounds including in the Bering Sea, which is the only western entry into the Arctic.
There is a brochure available which looks at Arctic Shield 2012.
As the nation’s lead federal agency for ensuring maritime safety, security and stewardship in the Arctic, the Coast Guard will perform its statutory missions to ensure the Arctic remains a safe, secure and environmentally sustainable region.
Coast Guard Arctic Shield 2012 will focus on outreach, operations and an assessment of our capabilities.
Coast Guard and other federal, state and local personnel will conduct more than 50 humanitarian outreach events in 27 different communities. It is the nation’s largest humanitarian outreach effort not in response to a disaster (natural or man-made) in recent history and will include water safety training, medical, dental and veterinary assistance.
Coast Guard operations in the Arctic will be conducted by multiple cutters, aircraft and personnel.