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Safety of Life at Sea—This panel is chaired by a U.S. Coast Guard 
representative to the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Or- 
ganization. Most of the exchanges have directly concerned IMCO 
matters and this panel has become a separate channel between the 
two countries on these matters. There have been no exchange of 
delegations because the participants meet regularly at IMCO meetings 
in Europe. 
Ice Transiting—The first U.S. delegation visited the Soviet Union 
for 2 weeks in February 1975. The delegation members toured several 
facilities, took a short trip on an icebreaker, and established a plan 
for future exchanges. Due to the necessities of geography, the Russians 
have developed a substantial capability for moving their ships through 
ice. Because the U.S. Coast Guard has the primary responsibility 
for ice transiting, one of their captains acts as the U.S. chairman. 
Cargo Handling and Ports—During a visit to the United States in 
July of 1974, six Soviet technicians were shown through the most 
modern terminals on the East coast. In return, six representatives 
of our Government and industry visited their facilities in Moscow, 
Odessa, and Leningrad in September. 
The next round of exchanges is scheduled for October of this year. 
There are plans to conduct symposia in each country and also to 
exchange a few technicians for extended training programs. A number 
of books on port and cargo regulations have been sent in both 
directions in the past year. Also, it is intended to promote compati- 
bility between container and trailer terminals and connecting inland 
service by discussing various computer control systems. 
Ship Equipment, Crew Training and Human Factors—The United 
States is exchanging data with the Soviet Union on ship automation 
and communications. We have discussed various technologies with 
the Russians and two exchange visits coincided with the visits of 
the Cargo Handling and Ports panel. We have been interested in 
getting their cooperation on a compatible satellite communication 
system for commercial ships and we have discussed this under the 
aegis of the Agreement with limited success. The State Department 
is also concerned with this question and has efforts of its own under- 
way. On other matters there have been exchanges of a small amount 
of information on automation and vessel servicing, and further trans- 
fers on training methods and crew retention are planned. 
Wave Spectra—The frequency with which different sized waves 
occur on ocean trade routes and the forces that these waves impose 
on a ship’s structure, are areas of ocean technology suffering from 
insufficient data. Measuring wave heights from a moving ship is a 
difficult problem but sophisticated equipment has recently been 
developed to do this. This panel has discussed the possibility of out- 
fitting American and Russian ships with these devices while simultane- 
ously measuring the stress and strains that are imposed on the test 
ship’s structure. These would be vessels plying their normal trade 
routes. The Soviet Union has been exploring the possibility of buying 
the necessary equipment from a supplier in the United States. 
The Department of Transportation is responsible for monitoring 
the basic Agreement and the Maritime Administration chairs the 
Marine Transport Working Group. 
