The Canadian Coast Guard’s Inshore Rescue Boat (IRB) station in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut completed its fourth season of providing maritime search and rescue services on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.
September 22, 2021
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories – The Canadian Coast Guard’s Inshore Rescue Boat (IRB) station in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut completed its fourth season of providing maritime search and rescue services on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.
In the North, the IRB program is operated by Indigenous post-secondary students, trained by the Canadian Coast Guard. The Rankin Inlet station opened in June 2018 to improve marine safety in Arctic waters in collaboration with Indigenous communities. This year, the station opened on June 23, and provided essential search and rescue services during the summer boating season.
During operations in Rankin Inlet, crews participated in training, including medical emergency response, seafaring, towing, and developing skills in rough water vessel handling. They also participated in virtual Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit Traditional Knowledge) information sessions led by the Canadian Coast Guard’s Community Engagement Coordinators from various communities across the North. Crews increased their local knowledge by participating in Inuktitut language training sessions and by learning local place names, including islands, inlets, and points of land. These Inuktitut names were added to Coast Guard charts and GPS devices on the vessels.
Throughout this season, the IRB crew carried out four training exercises, responded to three SAR cases, and travelled over 854.3 nautical miles. In Rankin Inlet, the IRB crew is an important part of the emergency response system, and works closely with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, Inuit communities, and other northern organizations to increase maritime safety in the Arctic. Continuing to provide services throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the adaptability of the IRB crews ensured Coast Guard continued delivering 24/7 search and rescue services to the Nunavut communities of Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, and Whale Cove.
The Coast Guard employs post-secondary students from coast to coast to coast through the IRB program to provide supplementary maritime search and rescue services during the busy summer boating season.
Marine emergencies can be called into the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at 1-800-267-7270
Media Relations
Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Arctic Region
204-984-4715
XCA.Media@dfo-mpo.gc.ca