THE TITANIC— 50 YEARS LATER 



TODAY 



The present seasonal trans-Atlantic lane routes were last revised 

 by the "North Atlantic Track Agreement" of January 1950. The 

 1960 convention for the "Safety of Life at Sea" reaffirmed the basic 

 concepts of the 1950 agreement, with a new provision, when ratified, 

 requiring mandatory lane compliance by vessels in the converging 

 areas. The present routes, consisting of tracks A, B, and C to and 

 from U.S. ports and tracks D, E, F, and G for Canadian ports, 

 together with the general instructions for their use are printed each 

 year on the back of the North Atlantic Pilot Chart for April. The 

 effective tracks each month appears on the face of the Pilot Chart 

 for that month. Alterations to the effective tracks deemed advisable 

 by the steamship companies composing the North Atlantic Track 

 Agreement are published by the Hydrographic Office. 



The Ice Patrol cooperates closely with the Canadian Department 

 of Transport which, in conjunction with its Meteorological Branch, 

 maintains an " Ice Central Office " at Halifax to support its ice- 

 breaking operations and to assist shipping in Canadian waters, 

 particularly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Straits of Bell Isle. 

 Ice experts consolidate the information obtained by observers 

 aboard the 10 Canadian Icebreakers, regular aerial reconnaissance, 

 commercial shipping, and lighthouse keepers. Up-to-date charts 

 depicting detailed ice conditions for the entire area of operation are 

 maintained and a radio facsimile is broadcast to shipping and other 

 interested parties. An ice forecasting service is also provided, and 

 an ice information officer is stationed at Sydney, Nova Scotia to 

 assist shipping and to act as a liaison between the shipping interests 

 and the ice-charting and forecasting service. 



Each year throughout the ice season, bulletins from the 

 Commander, International Ice Patrol (NIK) are broadcast twice 

 daily at 0048 and 1248 GMT by the U.S. Coast Guard Radio 



Argentia, Newfoundland (NIK). Broadcasts are preceded by the 

 general call CQ on 500 kc. with instructions to shift to a receiving 

 frequency usually either 155, 5320, or 8502 kc. The bulletins are 

 transmitted at 15 words per minute and repeated at 25 words per 

 minute. If necessary, special ice bulletins, preceded by the Inter- 

 national Safety Signal TTT, may be broadcast in addition to those 

 regularly scheduled. Normally, merchant ships call NIK on 500 kc. 

 or 8 mc. Ships usually work 425, 448, 454, or 480 kc, or their 

 assigned working frequencies, and NIK normally works 432, 8734, 

 or 12718.5 kc. When on station the surface patrol vessels (NIDK) 

 will relay messages between the ships and NIK if necessary. 



All vessels are requested to report any ice sighted in the area 

 between latitudes 39° and 49 °N. and between longitudes 42° and 

 60 °W. Also at 4-hour intervals, reports of the ship's position, course, 

 speed, visibility, sea temperature, and weather conditions are desired. 

 These reports by shipping are of the utmost importance to the 

 International Ice Patrol during periods or reduced visibility when 

 aerial ice observation is rendered ineffective. Reports aid the Ice 

 Patrol in relocating drifting ice, effectively planning and concentrat- 

 ing ice observation flights in areas of suitable visibility, and con- 

 structing isotherm charts employed in estimating ice melting rates 

 and detecting shifts in the branches of the Laborador Current. 

 Weather conditions are useful in estimating set and drift of bergy 

 bits and field ice and in determining the necessity for special warnings. 



To facilitate the correct evaluation, ice reports to the Patrol 

 should include (1) the type of ice sighted (Note. — If a radar target, 

 report it as such.), (2) the position of the ice (not the position of the 

 ship), (3) sea temperature at the closest point of approach to the ice, 

 and (4) weather and visibility conditions. When impracticable to 

 send reports promptly every 4 hours, vessels are requested to prepare 

 the scheduled reports for later transmission as a late report is much 

 better than no report. 



Again this year, as in 1961, the International Ice Patrol 

 contemplates regular daily transmissions of ice conditions by fac- 

 simile. The time and frequencies of the transmissions will be 

 indicated in the regular ice bulletins. These facsimiles will represent 

 true ice conditions and limits instead of the synoptic view offered by 

 the ice bulletins. 



Throughout the ice season the U. S. Navy Hydrographic 

 Office repeats the ice information bulletins over Navy Radio Wash- 

 ington (NSS) on the twice daily Hydrolant Broadcast at 0430 and 

 1630 GMT. Before the commencement and after the termination 

 of the International Ice Patrol, all reports of ice sightings should be 

 addressed to the U. S. Navy Hydrographic Office, Washington, D.C. 

 The information will then be broadcast to shipping on the Hydrolant 

 schedule. 



Fifty years have passed since that fateful night when the 

 TITANIC went down with such an appalling loss of life. Today, 

 thanks to the International Ice Patrol, thousands of ships annually 

 traverse the Grand Banks region in perfect safety. Since the 

 inception of the Patrol, not a passenger has lost his life in the area. 

 Truly it can be said that those who lost their lives in the world's 

 greatest maritime disaster, did not die in vain. 



44 



