The USCG International Ice Patrol Liaison Office was founded in 1980, and exists as an integral part of the National Ice Center. Responsibilities of the office range from iceberg detection to ice analysis service for vessels in the Arctic regions.

MISSIONS

Our mission is to remotely sense IIP's area of responsibility, update the IIP's iceberg database, and provide ice analyses service to vessels operating in Arctic and Antarctic regions.

International Ice Patrol Support

• The main mission of the IIP Liaison Office is to collect and analyze iceberg data by using high resolution satellite imagery. This data is then analyzed, processed, and sent to the IIP for entry into their computer system.

Ice Edge Analysis

• The Liaison's second mission is to assist the National Ice Center in it's daily routine of analyzing and forecasting global sea ice conditions.

USCG Ice Breaker Support

• The third mission is operational support of USCG Polar Star and USCG Polar Sea. 

International Ice Patrol
It is the mission of the International Ice Patrol to observe and study ice and oceanographic conditions in the Grand Banks region and warn mariners of any existing iceberg hazard. The Ice Patrol conducts seasonal reconnaissance flights, primarily with USCG HC130 SLAR/FLAR equipped aircraft. Ice reconnaissance flights are made on the average of five days every other week over the North Atlantic, operating out of St. John's, Newfoundland, during the ice season which typically runs during the months of February through August. 

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Last Update on  August 6, 2008

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