54 Proceedings Fall 2025 onboard and was automatically activated when the ves- sel developed a hull leak and started to capsize in seven- foot seas. The EPIRB position happened to be in a commu- nications “dead zone” where Coast Guard SAR plan- ners did not have VHF radio coverage and thus could not communicate directly with the vessel in distress. Leveraging vital partnerships, the Arctic District and its subunits coordinated a joint response involving the AST, the Marine Exchange of Alaska (MXAK), and local “Good Samaritan” fishing vessels in the immediate area. A Coast Guard helicopter and local AST vessel were dispatched to the scene while radio coverage was pro- vided by MXAK to divert several nearby fishing vessels to assist with the rescue. Through this collaboration, a nearby fishing vessel rescued the two survivors from a life raft. They were transferred to the AST vessel, from which they were hoisted by the Coast Guard helicopter and transported safely to local emergency medical ser- vices in Kodiak. This case is a typical example of collabo- ration, coordination, and over coming unique obstacles to achieve mission success in the Alaska AOR. Challenging the Status Quo Despite recent successes and efforts to improve opera- tional effectiveness, most units have, necessarily, come to accept the “tyranny of distance” and other limitations as part of the status quo in this remote AOR. The challenges faced by Alaska-based Coast Guard units, however, are not going to disappear. Instead, they are only likely to increase as the environment continues to shift. To respond to the region’s challenges, the Arctic District needs improvements to continue executing the mission entrusted to its personnel. Crucially, the Coast Guard must be able to provide more adequate communications coverage across the AOR. Currently unreliable VHF has led to a notice- able uptick in distress notifications received from com- mercial and recreational vessels via cell phone because of increased accessibility to mobile satellite internet. However, these services are expensive for mariners to obtain and maintain, and due to variations in weather and satellite availability remain an unpredictable method of sending distress notifications. Nevertheless, as this capability expands worldwide,13 the Coast Guard must embrace new technologies as they become a more reli- able source of communication with mariners, espe cially for areas outside existing VHF coverage. Meanwhile, VHF radio remains ubiquitous and inexpensive for the maritime community. Conclusion Maritime SAR across the Last Frontier is an exceptional and unrelenting challenge. Despite a comparatively low quantity of overall SAR cases compared to the rest of the service, the Coast Guard’s response posture and resource allocation in Alaska should not be dictated by number of cases alone. The complexity of the mission in this remote AOR necessitates a more comprehensive look at the underlying impacts of asset allocation and a reconsideration of the status quo in the face of increasing Arctic maritime traffic and security concerns. In doing so, the Coast Guard will continue to promote an always ready workforce in a dynamic and unforgiving environ- ment for decades to come. About the author: LT Matt Naylor managed search and rescue (SAR) operations across Alaska from 2019 to 2025 as a command duty officer and SAR mission coordinator after completing an initial afloat tour on the east coast of the Unites States. He now serves as an international port security liaison officer at Coast Guard Activities Europe in Brunssum, Netherlands. He and his wife of eight years have two energetic outdoor-loving daughters who were born and raised in Alaska. Endnotes: 1. National Transportation Safety Board. (2021). Capsizing and sinking of com- mercial fishing vessel Scandies Rose, Sutwik Island, Alaska, December 31, 2019 (NTSB/MAR-21/02 PB2021-100924). https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/ AccidentReports/Reports/MAR2102.pdf 2. Ibid 3. University of Alaska Fairbanks. (2025). Mean/Max wind speeds. Alaska Climate Research Center. https://akclimate.org/data/mean-max-wind-speeds 4. Pinto, J. O., Megenhardt, D. L., Fowler, T., & Colavito, J. (2020). Biases in the Mesoscale Prediction of Ceiling and Visibility in Alaska and Their Reduction Using Quantile Matching. Weather and Forecasting, 35(3), 997-1016. https://doi. org/10.1175/WAF-D-19-0230.1 5. Ballinger, T. J., Bhatt, U. S., Bieniek, P. A., Brettschneider, B., Lader, R. T., Littell, J. S., Thoman, R. L., Waigl, C. F., Walsh, J. E., & Webster, M. A. (2023). Alaska Terrestrial and Marine Climate Trends, 1957–2021. Journal of Climate, 36(13), 4375-4391. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-22-0434.1 6. Alaska Channel. (2024). Shortest day in Alaska: Hours of daylight in winter. ALASKA.ORG. https://www.alaska.org/advice/shortest-day-in-alaska 7. Stanford University. (2024, January 2). Demographics. Stanford Medicine. https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/alaskan/introduction/demo- graphics.html 8. Arctic Shipping Update: 37% increase in ships in the Arctic over 10 years. (2024, January 31). Arctic Council. https://arctic-council.org/news/increase- in-arctic-shipping/#_ftn1 9. Rodríguez, J. P., Klemm, K., Duarte, C. M., & Eguíluz, V. M. (2024). Shipping traffic through the Arctic Ocean: Spatial distribution, seasonal variation, and its dependence on the sea ice extent. iScience, 27(7), 110236. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110236 10. Min, C., Yang, Q., Chen, D., Yang, Y., Zhou, X., Shu, Q., & Liu, J. (2022). The emerging Arctic shipping corridors. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl099157 11. Cruise Lines International Association - Alaska. (2025). History of Cruise Industry in Alaska. CLIA Alaska. https://akcruise.org/economy/alaska- cruise-history 12. Hooper, C. (2024, December 15). U.S. Coast Guard Aviation, facing cri- sis, rethinks strategy. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/craig- hooper/2024/12/15/us-coast-guard-aviation-facing-crisis-rethinks-strategy 13. Maritime Satellite Communication Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by type (VSAT, MSS), by revenue source (Hardware, software, ser- vices), by end use, by region, and segment forecasts, 2019 - 2025. (2025). In Grand View Research (GVR-4-68038-049-1). https://www.grandviewresearch. com/industry-analysis/maritime-satellite-communication-market
