www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/MAY 2019 53
The lasT WOrd
By Col pierre leBlAnC (ret'd)
"when there is more ice, you need more icebreakers.
when there is less ice, you need more icebreakers!"
A
t first I was puzzled by this
statement from a Canadian
Coast Guard officer. The
first part is obvious enough;
the second part was less
so. The reason for the second part is that
when the ice starts to disappear, as is the
case right now, the remaining ice starts
moving unpredictably around with the
currents, tides and wind. Moving ice can
prevent or delay the resupply of a commu-
nity if there is not an available icebreaker
to support the approach.
Moving ice is what happened this past
summer, with expensive consequences.
A significant amount of multi-year ice
formed a plug in the Amundsen Gulf.
Multi-year ice can be very thick and pre-
vent even heavy icebreakers from getting
through. That situation was a major fac-
tor in the failure to resupply a number of
arctic communities by barges. Some of the
resupply had to be shipped by air at a cost
of millions of dollars. Most of the heavy
or bulky items, such as vehicles and con-
struction material, will only be moved next
shipping season, causing delays to projects
and logistical nightmares.
Unfortunately, the disappearing ice in-
vites growing maritime traffic in the Arc-
tic, including adventurers who may not be
prepared for one of the most challenging
environments on earth. When the Chief
of Defence Staff states that the Canadian
Forces deployments to the Arctic are a
form of expeditionary deployments, peo-
ple should pay attention. Too many come
to the Arctic unprepared. I was on board
the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker
Louis St-Laurent in 2013 when the ship
received a distress signal from a group of
adventurers who thought that it would be
cool to Sea-Doo across the Northwest Pas-
sage. They became ice-bound by moving
ice, and their camp was attacked by polar
uNderfuNded?
is The canadian coasT guard
The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent.
Photo: Patrick Kelley, U.S. Coast Guard.
