Canadian Coast Guard arctic monitors hit communications snag

Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent (Photo courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent (Photo courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

Canada’s Coast Guard is suffering from crossed wires at their only manned field station in the Arctic.

The CBC reports that some radio transmissions aren’t making it through to the Coast Guard office in the northeastern province of Nunavut because of a lag in their new software system.

This is only the second summer that the Nunavut office has handled distress calls from across the Arctic. A field station near the popular Northwest Passage shut down in 2012 due to budget constraints.

So far, no sailors have been affected by the radio glitch, according to the president of the union for Canadian Coast Guard communications officers. Brad Stroud told the CBC that the system could be fixed within the week. In the meantime, he suggests that mariners call Canada’s central search and rescue office if they run into trouble.

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