US Coast Guard: 1,000 icebergs drifted into shipping lanes in 2017

Shipping safety officials show concern, say they “don’t want another Titanic”

US Coast Guard: 1,000 icebergs drifted into shipping lanes in 2017

Marine

By Lyle Adriano

US Coast Guard officials have said that for this year, about 1,000 icebergs drifted into North Atlantic shipping lanes – the fourth consecutive “extreme” ice season the maritime service has observed.

The Coast Guard’s International Ice Patrol held its annual meeting in New London earlier this week to discuss the issue, and how to prepare for next year. The US National Ice Center, as well as the Canadian Ice Service and the Danish Meteorological Institute, were present for the meeting

According to Ice Patrol leader Cmdr. Kristen Serumgard, the increase in drifting icebergs could be the result of retreating Greenland glaciers and storms breaking up significant amounts of sea ice. Serumgard said that, specifically, 1,008 icebergs were detected in the shipping lanes, compared to 687 icebergs last year.

Based on the number of icebergs it has observed, the Ice Patrol classifies each ice season as light, moderate, or extreme. This year was the 19th most severe season since 1900, The Associated Press reported.

When asked whether ships still hit icebergs despite navigational innovations such as modern radar, Serumgard warned that ships can still miss them.

“We don’t want another Titanic,” she added.

The Associated Press noted that the Ice Patrol has started to rely more on satellite imagery to spot drifting icebergs. For this year, 22% of the icebergs spotted by the taskforce were found using satellites, compared to the 2% of icebergs recorded in 2016.

Serumgard is hopeful that the Ice Patrol will eventually transition to relying solely on satellites to spot icebergs, which would leave Coast Guard planes free to pursue other missions.


Related stories:
Electronic shipping display systems are “simple” to disable, expert warns
ICS & CMI encourage maritime treaty ratification
 

Keep up with the latest news and events

Join our mailing list, it’s free!