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When asked by a Calgary Herald columnist what would happen if a cruise ship ran aground in Canada’s Arctic waters, security expert David Bercuson responded, “We dial 1-800-IVAN.” Only Russia, he asserted, has the “necessary ships and equipment to do that job.”

Not only is that statement false, it also trivializes the hard work of Canada’s search and rescue (SAR) professionals.

On the last two occasions that passenger vessels ran aground in Canada’s Arctic waters — the Clipper Adventurer in 2010 and Akademic Ioffe in 2018 — Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers arrived on scene to assist. In the latter case, the Ioffe was evacuated by the closest vessel of opportunity (VOO), its Russian sister ship. Receiving assistance from VOOs is not a negative — it is exactly how the SAR system is supposed to work.

While these incidents came close to requiring mass rescue operations, favourable conditions and good fortune prevailed in each case. As vessel traffic in the Canadian North increases, however, the risk grows. Twenty-three cruise ships, from 16 tour operators and with an average passenger count of 377, will enter Canada’s Arctic waters in 2023.

The planners and operators in the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces understand the risk. Uncharted seabed, the presence of ice hazards and the tendency of expedition cruise vessels to leave well-known shipping corridors could all lead to accidents.

They also understand the challenge. Mass rescue operations are extremely difficult anywhere in the world, and even more so in Canada’s Arctic with its austere environmental conditions, limited local resources and infrastructure, fewer vessels, and the substantial distances involved in responding with Coast Guard icebreakers or RCAF aircraft based in the south. A mass rescue in the region would seriously test Canada’s search and rescue system, while the sudden influx of hundreds of evacuees would challenge the infrastructure and essential services of most communities in Inuit Nunangat.

In response, Canada has developed detailed marine disaster plans and has the expertise in the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres, Canadian Armed Forces and Coast Guard to carry them out. They repeatedly practise these plans with domestic and international partners, with two more large-scale multinational exercises planned for this summer.

The Coast Guard Arctic Region’s innovative Exercising Program (launched in 2019) provides expert guidance to the cruise industry on risks, how the SAR system functions and how a mass rescue would work in the region. This program helps smooth out some of the complexity involved in MROs and ensures that participating cruise ships are ready to assist as vessels of opportunity.

Canada generally deploys eight icebreakers to the Arctic each summer. The vessels are admittedly aging, but still capable. When not undertaking icebreaker operations, the Coast Guard deploys them to areas of increased risk — such as where cruise ships are operating. Canada’s new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels will assist these efforts, as will the recently expanded Coast Guard Auxiliary in the region, which ensures that the valuable local knowledge and assistance of Inuit responders will be infused into mass rescue operations from the start.

Canada’s major air disaster (MAJAID) kits — a novel innovation for the country’s remote and expansive geography — can also be deployed for marine disasters and are Arctic capable. The kits containing tents, sleeping bags, clothing, medical supplies, heaters, generators, water and rations can be air-dropped to support 400 people for up to 24 hours.

All of this is a far cry from Bercuson’s imagined 1-800-IVAN response.

The challenges remain daunting, however. Continuing to strengthen Canada’s everyday search and rescue capabilities — its primary search and rescue assets and Joint Rescue Coordination Centres — will help, as will constructing new icebreakers and strengthening the Auxiliary. The number of MAJAID kits could be expanded to match the growing number of passengers on board Arctic-bound cruise ships. Most importantly, the planning, training and exercises must continue as our search and rescue professionals work through the complex problem of moving passengers and crew from ship to shore to south.

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/colum ... -preparing