between the release of the 0000Z products 

 and the 1200Z products, results in a 

 change to the IIP limits. 



IIP also prepared a daily facsimile 

 chart, depicting the limits of all known ice, 

 for broadcast at 1 600Z and 1 81 OZ daily. In 

 addition, the facsimile chart was placed on 

 the World Wide Web on MP's web site. 

 U. S. Coast Guard Communications Area 

 Master Station, Atlantic/NMF and the 

 NOAA/National Weather Service assisted 

 with the transmission of these charts. 

 Canadian Coast Guard Marine 

 Communications and Traffic Service St 

 John's, NewfoundlandA/ON and U. S. 

 Coast Guard Communications Area Master 

 Station, Atlantic/NMF also provided special 

 broadcasts as required. 



In 1998, IIP sent 338 ice facsimile 

 charts. Of these, 314 (93%) were 

 delivered on time and 334 (99%) were sent 

 without errors. Late ice facsimile charts 

 are defined as those for which the radio- 

 frequency start tone starts greater than one 

 minute later than 1600Z or 1810Z, 

 respectively. The primary cause of late ice 

 facsimile charts was communications- 

 system errors. The primary cause of 

 erroneous ice facsimile charts was 

 computer or operator error. 



As in previous years, International 

 Ice Patrol requested that all ships crossing 

 through the area of the Grand Banks report 

 ice sightings, weather, and sea surface 

 temperatures (SST) via Canadian Coast 

 Guard Radio Station St John'sA/ON, U.S. 

 Coast Guard Communications Area Master 

 Station Atlantic/NMF or INMARSAT-C or 

 INMARSAT-A using code 42. Ships are 

 encouraged to make ice reports even if "no 

 ice" is sighted (Reports with "no ice 

 sighted" are included in MP's statistics as 

 ice reports). Knowledge of where ice is not 

 found is also very important to IIP. IIP has 

 tabulated the number of reports received 



and the start/end date of the 1998 Ice 

 Season (See Table 1). Appendix B lists all 

 contributors. IIP received relayed 



information from the following sources 

 during the 1998 ice year: Canadian Coast 

 Guard Marine Communications and Traffic 



Service St. John's/VON; Canadian Coast 

 Guard Vessel Traffic Center/Ice Operations 

 St. John's; Ice Center Ottawa; Canadian 

 Coast Guard Marine Communication and 

 Traffic Services Halifax, Nova Scotia/VCS; 

 ECAREG Halifax, Nova Scotia; U.S. Coast 

 Guard Atlantic Area Command Center; and 

 U.S. Coast Guard Automated Merchant 

 Vessel Emergency Response/ Operations 

 Systems Center, Martinsburg, WV. 

 Commander, International Ice Patrol 

 extends a sincere thank you to all stations 

 and ships that contributed reports during 



