Brad Durnford left Bay D’Espoir, Newfoundland and Labrador, when he was 17 and started at the Canadian Coast Guard College. Durnford has been with the Coast Guard now for 29 years.
He’s the ice superintendent for the Atlantic Region, which encompasses Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and half of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
From December to June, icebreakers and hovercrafts operate along Canada’s east coast from Newfoundland to Montréal and in the Great Lakes. Then, from June to November, icebreakers provide much needed services in the Arctic.
The icebreaking program provides assistance to all vessels based on an established and agreed upon priority list. First, it’s distress and emergency situations; then the ferry in Channel-Port aux Basques connecting Newfoundland to the mainland (because it’s mandated in the Constitution as part of the Trans-Canada Highway); next is other ferries, ships with vulnerable cargo such as perishables and vessels transporting cargo vital to the survival of communities; and finally, marine traffic, fishing vessels and commercial ports.
In total, there are 18 Coast Guard ships that support the icebreaking program along with two hovercrafts. The hovercraft are not conventional icebreakers, but because they float above the surface of the water and are not submerged, they can travel outside the main navigation channels and in shallow waters. Their weight and speed create strong waves that break the ice into smaller pieces, which allows wind and currents to clear the ice away.
The Atlantic region has 10 of those ice breaking vessels, ranging from high endurance, heavy icebreakers to medium endurance, light icebreakers.
Durnford has seen his fair share of tricky situations when it comes to icebreaking and search and rescue, having spent 21 of his Coast Guard years at sea. He recalled one particular situation involving a small open boat with two fishermen on board, stuck in ice off the Northern coast of N.L.
“I wasn’t on a ship at the time, but I was working as an ice watch keeper. They were up off St. Anthony somewhere, but they weren’t sure where they were because the ice had them pinned in.”
To make things worse, Durnford added, it was foggy, getting dark and there was weather coming.
“Here they are in an open boat, going on dark and they couldn’t move. Working with the [Coast Guard] icebreaker, I knew we had to find these guys and get them off the ice before it got dark. But the cell phone signal was also coming and going.”
The fishermen said they could hear a horn and Durnford knew the only horn in that area was in the Strait of Belle Isle near St. Anthony. Despite the lack of visibility, he told the captain of the icebreaker to head towards that general area.
Next, Durnford did something he wasn’t taught in Coast Guard training.
“I got the boat captain on the phone again, and I asked them if they had anything they could set on fire. They lit a fire on the ice next to the boat and the icebreaker actually could see it against all the white. They picked the guys up with their boat and took them back to St. Anthony.”
“I guess that’s where my years of experience came in handy as an ice watch keeper and being used to being on the vessels.”
He applied an international distress signal, having the crew make the fire on the ice, to achieve maximum contrast.
“It was just one of those thoughts that came in my head,” Durnford added. “There’s no book that tells you how to handle every case.”
Working With Search and Rescue
The incident near St. Anthony didn’t get to the stage where Search and Rescue (SAR) had to be called, but some incidents do.
Durnford points to another case around the island of Newfoundland a few years back when a number of fishing vessels were stuck in heavy ice for several days. Even the Coast Guard icebreakers were having a difficult time maneuvering through the ice.
“We were waiting for the wind to change so the ice would loosen but it was days and days of just being pressed in,” he recalled. “The people on the boat were running out of medication but we couldn’t really take them off and we couldn’t leave them there indefinitely. We ended up getting their medicine dropped to them by a Search and Rescue helicopter.”
The icebreaking crew works quite closely with the Coast Guard’s SAR division in cases like that.
“We can basically work up to a certain point and once it becomes a life-threatening situation, there’s a tipping point at which time search and rescue takes over.”
Jon-Richard Willan is the Maritime Search and Rescue coordinator for the Canadian Coast Guard. Willan takes care of search planning, coordinating, controlling and directing the response to maritime search and rescue incidents.
He and his SAR team are on standby 24/7 in case the situation goes beyond icebreaking.
“We had a situation recently where two individuals were stranded on an island for three days due to changing ice conditions. They were out of food and one person was without medication. We had to task a Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel to assist them off the island to safety.”
The frequency of those calls varies from year to year depending on ice concentration, thickness and geographic location. “We have had other cases in the past, where vessels have departed port in ice free conditions to remote areas, only to become stranded when the ice moved in.”
More Than Icebreaking
In addition to escorting vessels, the icebreaking crew also provides routing and general information to clients; advising of routes that will make it easier for vessels to get through the ice or avoid it entirely.
In central Canada, flood control is a priority. They break up rivers and ports with a potential for an ice jam that could back up and cause flooding.
The icebreaking crew also goes to Labrador and the Arctic to help resupply northern communities. And doubling as research vessels is also in their mandate. Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers take part in some very important science work while in the Arctic.
Another important job of the icebreaking unit is harbour breakouts. This keeps them particularly busy in fishing harbours in the spring, especially around New Brunswick, Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador.
As Durnford pointed out however, no matter the task, there are challenges.
The Coast Guard is often contacted for harbour breakouts by fish harvesters early in the spring, anxious to get started for the season. However, this can sometimes interfere with residents who use the ice as a road or highway for snowmobiles, accessing remote cabins, hunting and fishing, etc. This is especially true in Labrador.
The icebreaking staff work with the town council, harbour authority and local government to keep the town residents informed of ice breaking operations. Even with those steps in place, they’ve had snowmobiles still using the ice in the path of an icebreaker and have had to abort the breakout until a later date.
“Harbour breakouts are also very dependent on the right wind and weather conditions,” explained Durnford. “An icebreaker can break the ice but cannot make it move without the help of mother nature. This can cause delays in the work and frustration from clients.”
In addition, many harbours are small with tight quarters which means the captain and crew have to be very experienced and skilled to perform the job safely.
Escorting vessels can be challenging as it’s often in close quarters. Icebreaking in these situations requires constant vigilance to avoid potential collisions and damage.
As with all icebreaking activities, weather and ice conditions also impact escorting. If winds are high in heavy pack ice, the track left behind the icebreaker can come under pressure and close right behind the breaker, making it impossible for the escorted vessel to follow close enough to stay in the open track. Sometimes it’s a matter of waiting for a change in wind or tides to loosen the ice.
The escorted vessel also needs enough horsepower or capability to work in ice. This can make it hard for the escorted vessel to make headway behind the breaker and can make for slow progress and long escort times.
The heavier the ice, the more challenging for the Coast Guard crew as well.
As Willan explained: “Only ‘ice class’ Coast Guard vessels can operate in ice infested waters. There can be an increase in response time when responding to a distress call in areas of heavy ice concentration because vessels cannot operate at maximum speed and/or they’ll use alternate routes, resulting in longer response times.”
24/7
The ice desk in Atlantic Canada consists of an ice superintendent (Durnford), an ice watch keeper and an ice service specialist (Environment Canada expert).
The ice watch officer is the point of contact for clients. They take the calls, determine which boats are in the vicinity and ensure they’re not interfering with other activities. Turnaround times are pretty quick.
“Every time we have a call, we want to be there on scene in eight to 12 hours to assist that person,” said Durnford. “There’s a lot of times we’re already on site because we’ve planned ahead. We know that a certain boat is going to a particular place and if we know they’re going to have problems, we’ll make every attempt to be there waiting for them.”
They can usually plan a few days out, but after that, it’s unpredictable because so is ice and weather. But as the ice changes and as the demands change, they move the vessels around to where they’re most needed.
Durnford is on call 24/7, especially during ice season, which starts in Labrador in November and runs until July. His day to day is a lot of planning, some preplanning and a lot of client and public engagement.
“It’s quite hectic. There was one weekend last year at the end of a three-day weekend I had over 180 calls and messages,” said Durnford. “It can get pretty intense. But then, of course, we hit the summer months and it slows down.”
That’s when the focus shifts to the Arctic, which is looked after by the central region.
Advances in Technology
The first icebreakers in Canada were introduced in the late 1800s to keep commerce moving in the winter. The Canadian Coast Guard was officially formed in 1962 and started to really concentrate on icebreaking.
There have been lots of advances in technology; different engines and different tools that modern icebreakers now have. For example, in addition to a propeller, some are fitted with Azipod thrusters, which can rotate 360 degrees and extend below the ship’s hull.
Some icebreakers are fitted with a bubbler system, which consists of a number of high-pressure air jets along the side of the vessel. These jets push air outwards and create air pockets, reducing friction from the ice on the ship’s hull, making it easier to pass through. This also helps to push the ice away from the icebreaker, leaving a bigger trail behind them.
In addition, there are different hull coatings that cut down on friction and create a lubricating effect on the ice.
But as Durnford explained, “Ultimately, icebreaking itself is always a function of power, speed and mass. You have advances within those things, but breaking becomes a function of inertia.”
Words of Caution
With decades of experience between them, both Durnford and Willan have some words of caution for anyone needing, or even observing, icebreaking activities.
First off, it may be interesting to watch, but never approach an ice breaker if you see one.
The cracks from the ice breaker track can extend a mile in either direction.
“Sure, it’s interesting to see and you can get some nice pictures, but getting close to an icebreaker is not worth the risk when you realize that crack could come towards you at any time,” warned Durnford.
Willan agreed that everyone needs to do their part. “Ice conditions can change quickly, and it’s important to be aware and to check the marine forecast for that area,” Willan added. “Onshore winds will bring the ice ashore, and into the bays, and also increase the ice pressure in that area.”
“Be aware of the weather and ice conditions prior to departing on a voyage. If you are operating a vessel that is not capable of operating in ice, it is important to know that conditions can change quickly, and you should pack extra provisions in case a situation like this occurs, or delay your departure until forecasted ice conditions improve.”
For more information about DFO’s icebreaking program, visit https://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/icebreaking-deglacage/program-programme-eng.html and for information about Canadian Ice Service, visit www.weather.gc.ca.
