34 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com
Figure 1
aRCTiC
2016 by the Danish Coast Guard to the
F/V Saputi, a Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Cor-
poration fishing vessel damaged by ice in
the Davis Strait .
The United Nations International Mar-
itime Organisation has recently published
a new Polar Code. The Code took effect
on 1 January 2017. It recommends and
imposes a multitude of standards to be
met by shipping companies that wish to
operate in the Arctic and Antarctic. The
combination of those standards is expect-
ed to reduce the potential of incidents
in the first place through its obligatory
training and equipment requirements.
The mandatory equipment on board
should also allow the immediate survivors
of an accident to safely evacuate a ship in
distress if need be while waiting for the
arrival of SAR assets.
Thanks to Canada's Ocean Protection
Plan funding, the Canadian Coast Guard
established an Inshore Rescue Boat sta-
tion in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut in June
2018, and has been providing several
Arctic Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
(CCGA) units with training and a well-
equipped community boat with search
and rescue equipment. There are 20
CCGA community-based units in the
territories and the northern part of Que-
bec and Manitoba. Twelve of them have
received a SAR community boat. The
Inuit know their marine environment in-
They generally do this on a voluntary basis as
members of their communities, but they can be
formally tasked to do a search in which case
they are compensated.
Photos: Canadian Coast Guard
