Summary of Operations^ 1997 



The 1997 IIP year (October 1 , 1996 - Sep- 

 tember 30, 1997) marked the 83nd anniversary 

 of the International Ice Patrol, which was estab- 

 lished February 7, 1914. MP's operating area is 

 enclosed by lines along 40°N, 52°N, 39°W and 

 57°W (Figure 1). 



MP's first preseason aerial ICERECDET of 

 the year departed on January 26. The 1997 IIP 

 season was opened on March 03 and from this 

 date until July 31, 1997 an ICERECDET oper- 

 ated from Newfoundland approximately every 

 other week. The season officially closed on Au- 

 gust 14, 1997. 



HP's Operations Center in Groton, Con- 

 necticut analyzed the iceberg sighting informa- 

 tion from the ICERECDETs, ships, Canadian Ice 

 Services (CIS) sea ice/iceberg reconnaissance 

 flights, and other sources. Air reconnaissance, 

 consisting of Coast Guard (IIP), Other Air Recon, 

 and CIS was the major source of iceberg sighting 

 reports this season, accounting for 61.8% of the 



icebergs sighted in 1997 (Table 1). Ships pro- 

 vided 27.3% of the iceberg sightings received by 

 IIP in 1997. Their continued active participation 

 indicates the value that they place on MP's ser- 

 vice. In 1997, 285 ships of 45 different nations 

 provided ice information to IIP. This demonstrates 

 that the number of nations using IIP services far 

 exceeds the 17 member nations underwriting IIP 

 under SOLAS 1974. Appendix B lists the ships 

 that provided iceberg sighting reports, including 

 reports of stationary radar targets. In Appendix 

 B, a single report may contain multiple targets. 



The largest contributor of air reconnais- 

 sance reports was Provincial Airlines Limited 

 (PAL). Their reports accounted for nearly all of 

 the category "Other Air Recon" on Table 1 . PAL 

 is a private company that provides aerial recon- 

 naissance services for the Canadian Department 

 of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) year round, and 

 for CIS June through December. DFO flights, 

 which are designated to monitor the activities of 

 fishing vessels, frequently carry them to areas with 



Table 1 



Sources of All Sightings 



Entered into HP's Drift Model 



Table 2 

 Initial Sighting Sources of Limit- 

 Setting Icebergs 



Sighting Source 



Coast Guard (IIP) 

 Other Air Recon 

 Canadian AES 

 BAPS 

 Ships 



Percent 

 of Total 



19.0 

 35.2 

 7.6 

 10.9 

 27.3 



x: 



x: 



