A Kodiak aircrew prepares a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to deploy to St. Paul in February of 2010. - U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Jeffrey Solomon / for Alaska Newspapers

Most Popular Stories

Tax cap on large vessels floated in Dillingham

Bristol Bay fisheries can benefit from industry cluster model

Two busted in Unalaska bar embezzlement

In Brief

Akutan hovercraft is history

Coast Guard deploys St. Paul unit for season

January 18th 2:24 pm | Hannah Heimbuch

The Coast Guard's forward operating location in St. Paul became operational as of Tuesday. Air Station Kodiak deployed two of its MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews to the southwest Alaska island in order to better safeguard the winter fisheries operating in the Bering Sea.

The seasonal base allows the Coast Guard to respond to emergencies much faster than they would be able to from their permanent locations. The higher volume vessels operating during the crabbing season warrant the increased effort, said a Coast Guard release.

"By staging search and rescue assets on St. Paul in conjunction with increased seasonal crabbing and fishing activity nearby, we significantly decrease our response time to distress calls," said Capt. Gregory Sanial, chief of response for the Coast Guard 17th District. "The forward operating location has been a successful life-saving strategy time and time again."

It in fact eliminates a six-hour transit time as well as a one-hour refueling stop. Those saved hours are a significant improvement considering the life and death conditions common in marine emergencies. While winter is the busiest time of year for many Bering Sea fisheries, it also holds the worst weather. The Coast Guard responds to those conditions each year with forward operating locations. The high endurance Coast Guard Cutter Munro, based in Kodiak, will also deploy to the Bering Sea region, outfitted with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Kodiak.

Copyright 2013 • The Arctic Sounder is a publication of Alaska Media, LLC. This site, its design and contents are © 2013 and may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication on not-for-profit websites. Alaska Media, LLC may not own copyright to portions of articles published; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Media, LLC makes no provisions for further distribution.

The Dutch Harbor Fisherman - Serving the Aleutians and the Pribilofs - A publication of Alaska Media, LLC, Alaska's rural news leader.

Copyright 2013 The Dutch Harbor Fisherman is a publication of Alaska Media, LLC. This article is © 2013 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Media, LLC makes no provisions for further distribution.