decreased slightly from 667.0 hours in 1 993 to 

 576.6 hours in 1994. The number of sorties 

 decreased from 1 54 in 1 993 to 1 39 in 1 994. 



Each day during the ice season, IIP 

 prepared and distributed ice bulletins at OOOOZ 

 and 1 200Z to warn mariners of the southwest- 

 ern, southern, and southeastern limits of ice- 

 bergs. U. S. Coast Guard Communications 

 Station Boston, Massachusetts, NMF/NIK, and 

 Canadian CoastGuard Radio Station St. John's 

 NewfoundlandA/ON were the primary radio 

 stations responsible for the dissemination of 

 the ice bulletins. In addition the OOOOZ and 

 1 200Z ice bulletin and safety broadcasts were 

 delivered over the INMARSAT-C SafetyNet 

 via the AOR-W satellite. Other transmitting 

 stations for the bulletins included METOC 

 Halifax, Nova Scotia/CFH, Canadian Coast 

 Guard Radio Station Halifax/VCS, Radio Sta- 

 tion Bracknel, UK/GFE, and U.S. Navy LCMP 

 Broadcast Stations Norfolk/NAM, Virginia, and 

 Key West, Florida. 



IIP also prepared a daily facsimile chart, 

 graphicallydepictingthe limits ofall known ice, 

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

 1 81 OZ broadcast was added this year to give 

 the mariner a second opportunity to receive 

 the facsimile chart. In addition, the facsimile 

 chart was placed on Comsat Corp's 

 INMARSAT-A FAXMAIL Server for receipt at 

 sea. Both facsimile chart initiatives were in 

 response to recent user survey. U. S. Coast 

 Guard Communications Station Boston as- 

 sisted with the transmission of these charts. 

 Canadian Coast Guard Radio Station St. 

 John'sA/ON and U.S. Coast Guard Communi- 

 cations Station Boston/NIK provided special 

 broadcasts as required. 



Canadian Coast Guard Radio Station St. 

 John'sA/ON or U. S. Coast Guard Communi- 

 cations Station Boston/NIK. Response to this 

 request is shown in Table 6. Appendix B lists 

 all contributors. IIP received relayed informa- 

 tion from the following sources during the 

 1 994 ice year: Canadian Coast Guard Marine 

 Radio Station St. John's VON ; Canadian Coast 

 Guard Vessel Traffic Centre/Ice Operations 

 St. John's; Ice Centre Ottawa; Canadian Coast 

 Guard Marine Radio HalifaxA/CS; ECAREG 

 Halifax, Canada; U.S. Coast Guard Communi- 

 cations and Master Station Atlantic, Chesa- 

 peake, Virginia; and U.S. Coast Guard Auto- 

 mated Merchant Vessel Emergency Re- 

 sponse/Operations Systems Center, 

 Martinsburg, WV. Commander, International 

 Ice Patrol extends a sincere thank you to all 

 stations and ships which contributed reports. 

 The vessel providing the most reports was the 

 MA/ Cast Polar Bear, a Croatian flag vessel. 



Canadian Forces 727th Communica- 

 tions Squadron/St. John's Military Radio served 

 as the primary facility for air ground communi- 

 cations, and the 726th Communications 

 Squadron/Halifax Military Radio was the sec- 

 ondary facility. 



As in previous years. International Ice 

 Patrol requested that all ships transiting the 

 area of the Grand Banks report ice sightings, 

 weather, and sea surface temperatures via 



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