Rescue in Alaska is measured in hours, not minutes In Alaskan waters, the question is not whether help will come, but how long the crew must survive until it arrives. The U.S. Coast Guard's Arctic District is responsible for more than 3.8 million square miles of ocean and over 47,300 miles of shoreline across Alaska and the Arctic. Air Station Kodiak, the largest Coast Guard command in the Pacific, covers an area of more than 4 million square miles, including the Gulf of Alas

Every offshore emergency plan assumes a rescue time. SOLAS approval alone does not show that an immersion suit will last that long in cold-water conditions.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps vessels sit outside the Polar Code entirely. As Arctic operations grow, does current cold-water immersion equipment meet the standard the services have already set for themselves?

The Arctic 10+ in Arctic field conditions — built for the days between abandonment and rescue, not just the first hour. Every immersion suit on the market is judged against the same question: does it meet the applicable standard? That's the wrong starting question, and it always has been. The right one is simpler and harder to hide from: if the person wearing this suit actually ends up in the water, or on the ice, does it keep them alive and functional long enough to be found

On August 24, Prime Minister Carney announced an $11 billion contract for six new Polar Class 3 Program Icebreakers, to be built at Chantier Davie in Lévis, Quebec. Each will carry up to 68 crew and program personnel. The first is due in 2032, with the full fleet in service by 2038. It's the largest investment in Canadian icebreaking capability in a generation, and it will keep Canadian Coast Guard crews working in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters for decades to come. It's also a