Coast Guard cadets help save lives

ATLANTIC OCEAN - Fourth class cadets aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle deploy an International Ice Patrol buoy into the Flemish Pass, between the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the Flemish Cap, May 15, 2011. The buoy will be used to collect the speed and direction of the Labrador Current in order to notify mariners of sea and ice conditions. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Brazzell.

ATLANTIC OCEAN - Seaman Thomas Gilbert, Cadet Fourth Class Daniel Valenti, Cadet Fourth Class Ryan Babb, Cadet Fourth Class Michael Vitrano and Cadet Fourth Class Andrew Gathy, prepare to deploy an International Ice Patrol buoy into the Flemish Pass, between the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the Flemish Cap, May 15, 2011. The buoy will be used to collect the speed and direction of the Labrador Current in order to notify mariners of sea and ice conditions. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Brazzell.

ATLANTIC OCEAN - Coast Guard Academy cadets aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle deployed a data buoy into the Flemish Pass, between the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the Flemish Cap, Sunday.

The data buoy will be tracked by satellite to collect information for the International Ice Patrol on the speed and direction of the Labrador Current, which will then be used to notify mariners of ice conditions off the Grand Banks, a major thoroughfare for merchant vessels traveling to and from the United States and Europe.

“By releasing this buoy we’re assisting the International Ice Patrol in tracking the sea ice and understanding what the currents in the region do,” said Lt. Jeff Janaro, the Operations Officer aboard the Eagle. “It will tell where the cold waters bringing the ice are coming from and what velocity those currents are traveling.”

The IIP monitors the shipping channels in the northern Atlantic Ocean and has been operated by the Coast Guard since it’s creation in 1914 after the sinking of the Titanic.

“This was a great opportunity to introduce the cadets to another mission of the Coast Guard,” said Janaro. “It’s a great way to parallel what they are learning in the class room by giving them some hands on experience and at the same time assisting another Coast Guard unit.”

Follow Eagle's voyage on Facebook at www.facebook.com/coastguardcuttereagle.

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