39 Summer 2025 Proceedings assist each other with both air and surface assets and coor- dinated efforts between Joint Response Coordination Center (JRCC) Halifax and Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) Boston have saved numer- ous lives. During the 2021 F/V Atlantic Destiny response, two U.S. Coast Guard aircraft assisted Canadian responders in saving the lives of all 31 crewmembers from the sinking fishing vessel. The Canadian-flagged vessel was in Canadian waters off the coast of Nova Scotia when it began to sink, and SAR was coordinated by JRCC Halifax. The submersible Titan was lost in RRCC Boston’s SAR area of responsibility in June 2023, but Canadian assets from Newfoundland quickly responded to support the U.S. Coast Guard in the response efforts. Annual SAR training is also conducted in Passamaquoddy Bay, and in the Bay of Fundy, between Maine and New Brunswick, involving U.S. Coast Guard Station Eastport, Maine, the Canadian Coast Guard Rescue Training Center, and the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. How it Began The coast guards’ cooperation on pollution response dates to 1972, when the need for an international marine pollution contingency plan for Canada-United States adjacent waters was recognized in the agreement between Canada and the United States regarding Great Lakes water quality. From this agreement, the Canada- United States Marine Contingency Plan for Spills of Oil and Other Noxious Substances, better known as the Joint Contingency Plan (JCP), was signed on June 19, 1974. In September 1983, these efforts expanded beyond the Great Lakes with the addition of four geographically oriented annexes: the Atlantic Coast (CANUSLANT), Pacific Coast (CANUSPAC), Dixon Entrance (CANUSDIX), and Beaufort Sea (CANUSNORTH). The relationship between the Coast Guard Northeast District and the Canadian Coast Guard Atlantic Region for pollution response began with the formation of CANUSLANT. In the event of oil or harmful substance spills along the border, the CANUSLANT serves as a bridge between the United States and Canada Contingency Plans for preparation and response efforts. The overall responsibility for the JCP falls under the Canadian Coast Guard’s National Strategies director gen- eral, and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Incident Management and Preparedness Policy director. For each geographic region, the overall responsibility falls under the appli- cable U.S. Coast Guard district commander and the Canadian Coast Guard assistant commissioner. In the event of discharges of harmful substances along the border, CANUSLANT’s primary objectives are to: • Ensure an effective, coordinated response to a cross-border spill • Establish a Canada-United States Joint Response Team (JRT) for the Atlantic Region under co-leadership of the Canadian Coast Guard and U.S. Coast Guard • When necessary, set up a Canada-U.S. Joint Area Command Post • Ensure timely and accurate notification of cross- border incidents to federal, state/provincial, tribal, and local authorities • Ensure timely and accurate flow of information between responders in both countries • Facilitate safe and timely cross-border movement and coordination of personnel, equipment, and supplies • Ensure coordinated and timely flow of information to the public and media CANUSLANT may also be used to obtain cross-bor- der assistance (mutual aid) when only one country is affected. Organization and Partners CANUSLANT’s joint response team membership struc- ture is similar to the United States’ Regional Response Teams (RRT), and membership is not limited to the two coast guards. Other federal, state, and provincial agencies participate and play critical roles. On the U.S. side, Maine is joined by the Department of the Interior, Chris Henderson, the Canadian Coast Guard’s deputy commissioner of operations, left, uses a portable remote control aboard CGC William Chadwick to steer the cutter during a demonstration in Rockland, Maine, on May 15, 2023. The demonstration was part of the Canada-United States Coast Guard Summit, a multinational event to, among other things, maintain and strengthen partnerships and discuss existing and emerging challenges. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Briana Carter
