Coast Guard Testing Next Generation of Ice Rescue Boats
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By Austin Wright and Stew Magnuson
DETROIT — Coast Guard personnel conducting ice rescues on the frozen rivers and lakes near Detroit will have a new specialized airboat to try out this winter.
Coast Guard Station Saginaw River, Mich., is the first to receive a new version of the special purpose craft airboat, which is built by Midwest Rescue Airboats LLC of Lawrence, Kan.
The Ice Capabilities Center of Excellence at the station will be conducting training and testing of the new 22-foot craft after the nearby lakes and rivers freeze up. The Coast Guard wants to upgrade its fleet of ice rescue watercraft.
The older models are cold and uncomfortable, and are basically open deck pleasure boats converted into airboats.
The new boats will be fully enclosed, heated, have more room to transport victims and equipment, and have shock absorbent seats. They can carry up to seven crew members.
“We get a lot of back injuries with our guys pounding over the ice, as you can imagine,” said Cmdr. David Beck, Coast Guard Detroit sector response chief. “This one is built like a tank.”
The company touts its cabin as having a “car-like atmosphere.” The water-tight compartment is designed to thwart swamping and sinking in the event of a breech. Older models use a temporary plastic cover that only serves to keep the wind off crewmembers.
Ideally, search-and-rescue missions on ice-bound waters require helicopters. But foggy conditions, or other inclement weather, can hamper air rescues, Beck said.
“The new state-of-the-art special purpose craft will potentially allow the station crew members to do the challenging missions of ice rescue in a safer and more comfortable fashion and will provide the public with safer and more efficient ice rescue service,” said Capt. Jeff Ogden, Chief of Response for the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland.
The new version weighs about one ton more than the older models, Beck said.
The special purpose craft can also pull double duty in summer months. They are transported to flooded areas for disaster response. Older models were used in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and last spring when the Red River in North Dakota jumped its banks.
Because the new boat is heavier, and has a larger draft, the Coast Guard will want to know how it performs in shallow waters in such scenarios, said Beck.
If approved for use, the Detroit Sector would like to eventually receive seven of the air boats, he added.