Two Canadian Coast Guard ships (CCGS) recently completed their first maritime security patrols in Canada's Northern waters in support of the Canadian Coast Guard's expanded maritime surveillance role.
The CCGS Des Groseilliers and the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent completed patrols in Arctic waters south of Victoria Island, around Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. The CCGS Des Groseilliers also participated in the Coast Guard-led Exercise ARCTIC GHOST, working with Northern partners in a series of presence and surveillance activities in Arctic waters. These important milestones highlight the implementation of the organization's enhanced mandate under the Strengthening Canada's Immigration Systems and Borders Act. The new security activities help bolster and protect Canada's sovereignty.
As part of the enhanced mandate to conduct security patrols, new surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities have been introduced into the Canadian Coast Guard fleet. Two helicopters are now equipped with MX-10 Electro-Optical Infra-red (EO-IR) camera systems. Additionally, MX-15 EO-IR systems have also been installed on the Dash-8 aircraft, which were used during the security patrols and in Exercise ARCTIC GHOST. A larger CMX-15 system has also been installed aboard the CCGS Louis S. St Laurent. A further eight Arctic-capable Canadian Coast Guard vessels will be equipped with systems in the near term. These camera systems will provide increased capacity for security patrols, ice reconnaissance, fisheries surveillance, pollution detection and reporting, fire control, and search and rescue. Together, these enhanced capabilities will help integrate information collected from vessels, aircraft, and shore-based systems to support maritime security operations.
During these patrols using the new equipment, the Canadian Coast Guard collected valuable information that will strengthen maritime domain awareness and broaden our understanding of activities in Canada's Arctic waters. The Canadian Coast Guard shared the information with Canada's Marine Security Operations Centres for distribution with security and enforcement partners, facilitating all agencies to efficiently work together to protect Canadians.
