Helping people in distress is something that goes back three generations in Shawn Tracey’s family.
His grandfather was the lighthouse keeper on the Strait of Belle Isle and his father was a radio operator for 35 years.
“That’s where my parents met in the late 50s,” says Tracey and the rest is family history.
Tracey is 53 years old and originally from Stephenville. He has worked with the Canadian Coast Guard’s Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) since September 1988.
Describing his work as an MCTS Officer, he says, “We guard (listen to) the international calling and distress frequencies for vessels requesting assistance. We do marine weather and Notice to Shipping broadcasts to mariners, and we regulate the safe and efficient vessel traffic movements for St. John’s narrows and approaches and Placentia Bay High Level Vessel Traffic Services Zones. In season, we also provide ice information.”
This isn’t necessarily where Tracey thought his career would go.
“I had no real aspirations towards anything, until my early 20s,” he says, “I decided to go to school at the Fisheries College to obtain my radio license. After that, I worked with Marine Atlantic for three years when I applied to the Canadian Coast Guard.”
Today you will find Shawn Tracey working at the MCTS Centre in Placentia, where he is a supervisor of MCTS Operations — call sign VCP.
Tracey says he picked up the importance of being a good communicator from his father and his grandfather. One very important lesson he learned was, “Don’t just listen to what is said — listen to what it means.”
On April 4, 2005 at exactly 8:10 p.m., Tracey was monitoring radio traffic. He heard a conversation between two vessels. One of the vessels indicated that they were having some difficulty. Tracey listened to what was said and what it could mean. There was a possibility this ship was in danger. He contacted the vessel immediately.
“If a master of a vessel indicates he is experiencing difficulty, there is potential for tragedy. As soon as shore personnel (search and rescue — through MCTS) are made aware, steps are taken immediately to avert tragedy,” Tracey explains.
The Atlantic Quest I had left Fermeuse earlier that night, bound for St. John’s. The 65-foot fishing vessel had lost all power and VHF communications. The only bit of good news was its medium frequency radio was operating on battery power. The other factor to consider was this ship had a four-person crew onboard who were new to the vessel.
Estimates placed the vessel 2.5 nautical miles from land and roughly 10 miles south of the St. John’s Vessel Traffic Services Zone. Weather conditions were good at the time with light southeast winds and visibility was about half a mile in fog.
Tracey reported the incident to the search and rescue coordinator and the Canadian Coast Guard went into action. Tracey started an all-stations broadcast for any ships in the area.
At 8:47 p.m. a fishing vessel, Fins N’ Skins, reported it was on the way to Fermeuse from Nova Scotia, roughly 30 minutes from the vessel’s position. A supply tug also responded to the call for help but its assistance turned out to be unnecessary.
As weather is inclined to do in Newfoundland, it quickly changed for the worse. Winds picked up to 25 knots, reducing visibility with snow and pea-soup-thick fog.
Within 30 minutes of its first contact, Fins N’ Skins reported that it was alongside the boat. However, with the thick fog, they soon discovered it was not the Atlantic Quest I.
The stranded crew were told to make some noise, to sound the vessel’s horn and to shoot off a distress flare to help rescuers find them. The Atlantic Quest I followed instructions, but with thick fog and blowing snow there was no hope of anyone seeing the flare.
“It was a very foggy night,” says Tracey, “and I remember being concerned with the vessel having no power with the possibility of it going ashore.”
They would need more help. The call went out to container ship ASL Sanderling, which was travelling southbound to Corner Brook through the St. John’s Traffic Zone. CCGS Cape Roger from St. John’s was also dispatched.
By this time, with no radar targets reported from Fins N’ Skins, the concern was that the vessel had drifted close to shore and was in danger of breaking up on the rocks. Now the regional alerting system came into play. Ship safety, rescue and environmental response, the Superintendent of Regional Operations Center and public affairs were notified of the emerging situation.
The captain of the Atlantic Quest I was instructed to activate the vessel’s EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) in order for search and rescue satellites to detect the signal for the exact location of the vessel. The alert determined the vessel was 5.2 miles north of its first given position and only about a half a mile from going ashore.
It was full steam ahead with all vessels converging, and the Fins N’ Skins arrived first on the scene. At approximately 4 a.m., the rescue began and the Atlantic Quest I was hooked up to a towline and towed safely to St. John’s harbour.
The work of an MCTS Officer can be challenging.
“Things can happen pretty fast,” Tracey says, “There can be language barriers and broken communications on the distress frequencies. But you have to be duly diligent. You have to do what has to be done.”
“I feel that the type of work I do is very important,” says Tracey. “I know that when I look back on big cases I’ve worked, I did things the way they were supposed to be done.” At the end of the day, he says he has a sense of fulfillment. “I’m working with an excellent group of people. It makes this job rewarding and enjoyable.”
Shawn Tracey believes strongly in the Canadian Coast Guard’s motto, Safety First, Service Always. “These words are embodied by MCTS Officers everywhere in the country.”
When you think about safety at sea, you may not think about MCTS Officers. You won’t see an MCTS Officer like Shawn Tracey at a rescue scene. But they are there, listening for any sign of distress on our waters, ready for service always.
