Coast Guard Restores Great Lakes Communications

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., said it regained normal communications capabilities in the northern Great Lakes region Tuesday, following outages throughout the region as a result of storms.

Restored communication capabilities include Rescue 21 coverage throughout northern Lake Michigan, northern Lake Huron and all of Lake Superior.

Rescue 21 is the Coast Guard’s advanced command, control and direction-finding communications system. It was created to better locate mariners in distress and to save lives and property at sea. Rescue 21 harnesses state-of-the-market technology, and enables the Coast Guard to execute its search and rescue missions with greater agility and efficiency.

During the outage, station watchstanders monitored legacy VHF radio channels around the clock to provide distress coverage throughout the Coast Guard’s area of responsibility in the region, but at a significantly reduced level from Rescue 21.

uscgnews.com