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News Release

Date: May 19, 2010

Contact: Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis

(907) 654-4112

Imagery Available: Coast Guard conducts Arctic Domain Awareness flight to assess safety of Russian researchers 560 miles from Point Barrow

KODIAK, Alaska - A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircrew makes contact with the Russian North Pole 37 station researchers whose camp is positioned approximately 1,400 miles north of Kodiak, to determine the current status and condition of the researchers may 18, 2010. The research station and camp has been on an ice pack since September 2009, however since a powerful ice stream is moving toward the station, the researchers are scheduled to be evacuated by the Rossiya nuclear-powered icebreaker and crew. U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Charly Hengen.  KODIAK, Alaska - A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircrew performs an overflight of the Russian North Pole 37 station after they flew more than 1,400 miles north of Kodiak to determine the researchers current condition and status May 18, 2010, due to an ice stream moving toward the station. The Rossiya, a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker, is en route to the station to evacuate the researchers and is scheduled to arrive in about 9 days. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Wilburn.  KODIAK, Alaska - A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircrew performs an overflight of the Russian North Pole 37 station to determine the researchers current condition and status May 18, 2010, due to an ice stream moving toward the station. The Rossiya, a nuclear-powered icebreaker, is en route to the station to evacuate the researchers and is scheduled to arrive in about 9 days. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Wilburn.
Editors note: To view or dowload the video and high resolution copies of the photos please click on the images above.

Kodiak, Alaska – The crew of an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Kodiak flew more than 1,400 miles on an Arctic Domain Awareness flight travelling above Alaska’s northern coastline to assess the safety of an imperiled mobile Russian research station 560 miles northeast of Point Barrow Tuesday.

The 17th Coast Guard District obtained information from a website (http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100516/159032877.html) that 15 researchers at the Russian North Pole 37 Station are being threatened by shifting ice. Upon arrival on scene the aircrew contacted the researchers by radio.

The researchers reported they were well supplied, in no immediate distress and were preparing for the arrival of the Rossiya, an Arktika-class Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker.

"It's not one big mass of solid ice up there as one might think.  It looks kind of thin and there are lots of cracks and open water around and through their camp.  If they needed it, we could have easily dropped rafts and emergency supplies from our C-130, but the Russians said they needed no assistance," said Capt. William Deal, HC-130 Hercules pilot and commanding officer Air Station Kodiak.

Deal added that any rescue this far north would likely require use of a Coast Guard icebreaker or air-refuelable helicopters from the U.S. Air Force. Too far from Barrow, the closest possible airport, Coast Guard helicopters would not be able to reach them.

Arctic Domain Awareness flights provide visibility on seasonal mining operations and coastal erosion while supporting the Coast Guard’s Homeland Security mission, maritime domain awareness and scienctific research, as well as testing personnel and equipment capabilities, identifying challenges and surveying sea ice.

Rossiya reportedly departed Murmansk, Russia, and is en route to evacuate the researchers in about nine days. Put in place in September, the station was scheduled to be manned through August.

Editors note:  Arctic flights are conducted approximately every two weeks. Flights throughout the 2010 season will be conducted from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak.  Media interested in embarking or for more information should contact PA1 Sara Francis at (907) 487-5700.

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