Members of the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard and Air Force were in Prince Rupert on Tuesday for a joint search and rescue activity.
The exercise includes a DHC-5 Buffalo aircraft, a Cormorant helicopter and two H60 helicopters and a C-130 Hercules from the U.S. Air Force. The role of the ship in distress will be filled by HMCS Edmonton, which was anchored at Northland Terminal last night.
It's the first time a search and rescue exercise of this magnitude has taken place on the North Coast in over seven years, and U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Tom Ostebo said the changes that have come to the region since then make the exercise "extremely important".
"The exponential growth in marine traffic here in Prince Rupert and in the Dixon Entrance is a risk opportunity we have to manage between Canada and the U.S. and the ability to do that is very important," he said, noting the organizations involved use activities like this to compare operations technology and communication.
"The end result is that when we have a real incident, a real search and rescue, that real event goes as smoothly as possible with no loss of life and no damage to the environment... When the real thing happens we need to be on our game."
Those sentiments were echoed by Rear Admiral Bill Truelove of the Joint Task Force Pacific and Maritime Forces Pacific.
"From my perspective it is incredibly important that we train together, that we understand each other, because it is exercises like this that allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the capabilities of the participants, but also build the relationships between the brave men and women who respond and often put their own lives on the line to save mariner's in distress," he said.
Joining the regular forces are members of the volunteer Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue – Station 64 base in Prince Rupert.