The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maple follows the crew of Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker Terry Fox, Aug. 12, 2017, during Maple’s 2017 Northwest Passage transit. As maritime traffic in the area increases, a Coast Guard Research and Development Center project seeks a reliable means of providing critical navigational safety information such as hazards, chart corrections and weather to Arctic mariners via digital means. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nate Littlejohn.

Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation: Arctic Navigational Safety Information System

Mariners face a multitude of hazards in the Arctic. The extensive seasonal melting of sea ice, reduction of multi-year ice and increase in first-year ice throughout the Arctic has generated an increase in maritime traffic. To help mitigate some of the risks associated with that increase, the Coast Guard has partnered with the Marine Exchange of Alaska (MXAK) to provide critical navigational safety information to Arctic mariners via digital means.