The Icelandic Coast Guard (ICG) is responsible for the coordination of all SAR operations within the Icelandic economic zone and the Icelandic Search and Rescue Region (SRR), Iceland's international area of responsibility according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Iceland's SRR area is around 1.9 million square kilometres, which is more than twice as large as its economic zone.
As part of this function, the ICG operates the Icelandic Joint Rescue Coordination Centre – JRCC Iceland, which is a combined centre and a single point of contact for all the ICG's activities. There is a 24-hour watch in order to react to emergency calls as quickly as possible.
At the centre all information on maritime traffic is collected and used jointly for Safety, Security, Fisheries Enforcement and general policing of the ocean. It is necessary for the ICG to maintain thorough information on the location of ships and boats.
It is often the case that many people and assets are involved in rescue operations, including helicopters, aircraft and ICG patrol vessels, foreign navies, coast guards, nearby ships, rescue teams, fire departments and police.
The operations division handles organization of supervision, law enforcement and emergency services. The division works closely with other facets of the ICG and consults on the preparation of sailing plans, flight schedules and air policing to ensure that equipment and manpower is always available when needed. The operations division is kept informed by the Coast Guard's command centre in Reykjavík Reykjavík regarding current and future projects, circumstances in the EEZ and the state of equipment and manpower, including law enforcement and rescue equipment of neighbouring countries, available when needed, based on by-lateral agreements.
The tasks of the ICG at sea are numerous and important. They include extensive law enforcement and surveillance regarding vessels, fishing, pollution, and all issues regarding the sea. In addition, crewmembers of the patrol vessels regularly board vessels to monitor fishing methods, catches, acceptable crew numbers, and safety equipment. To fulfil its duties at sea, the ICG relies on first class equipment. Here, the patrol ships play a key role, as they are well-equipped for law enforcement, rescue, and fire-fighting work. They have considerable towing capabilities and form core support in aiding and rescuing larger vessels in the waters around Iceland. According to Icelandic law, patrol vessels are expected to provide remote areas with services as well as entire communities when overland transport fails as a result of natural disasters. The patrol vessels were designed and constructed with use in the Nordic region in mind. The patrol vessel Þór, moreover, is specially equipped for cleaning up oil spills at sea and is the only vessel with such capability in the area between Norway and Canada.
ICG operates three vessels Þór, Freyja and Baldur. A powerful vessel Thor was taken into service in October 2011. The Icelandic Coast Guard has also the vessel Baldur that is used for hydrographic surveying and surveillance during the summer time.
Search and rescue capabilities of the ICG in the waters around Iceland are based on three main foundations: The patrol vessels and control centre discussed earlier as well as the aircraft of the ICG. The airplane and helicopters are, thereby, an essential link in the chain that forms the response capabilities of ICG in the Icelandic search and rescue area, an area encompassing 1.9 million square kilometres. ICG helicopters can undertake search, rescue and medevac flights within the Icelandic EEZ. They are especially equipped for rescue operations and are, moreover, involved in search, rescue and medevac flights on land.
The surveillance and rescue airplane is a key unit with regard to searching for those in need, particularly at the outer limits of the EEZ, just as outside it but within the search and rescue area. It is equipped with state-of-the-art radar, a thermal imager and can also be used to drop lifeboats to those in need. This is particularly important for the area outside the flying range of the helicopters, as such search and rescue efforts can only be undertaken by aircraft and ships.
The Coast Guard's helicopter fleet was completely renewed between 2019 and 2021 and has never been better equipped. Three helicopters form the helicopter fleet, all of which are Airbus Super Puma H225s and were given the identification letters TF-GRO, TF-EIR and TF-GNA.
These helicopters outmatch the older model with more carrying capacity, good de-icing equipment and excellent autopilot system that makes it easier for pilots to fly in difficult conditions. The helicopters also have a thermal camera, searchlights, a high-performance cargo hook as well as carrying external floats that inflate in the event of an emergency landing at sea. Each helicopter can carry up to 19 passengers and five people form a traditional crew. Aircraft commander, co-pilot, navigator who is also a rescue specialist to be lowered by winch, an aviation mechanic who is also a winch operator and a doctor.
With the arrival of the surveillance and rescue aircraft TF-SIF in the summer of 2009, the surveillance capability of the ICG increased substantially. The plane is specially designed for search, rescue, surveillance and medevac missions in the North Atlantic. It took approximately one year to equip the aircraft specially for the tasks that it is intended to carry out.
The plane, a Dash 8 Q300, has a range of approximately 2100 nautical miles plus 45 minutes of back-up fuel. Aircraft of this type are known for being able to operate on short runways and to withstand considerable crosswinds, or around 36 knots. In its conventional configuration there are seats for 12 to 14 passengers although it can be changed to a 22 person aircraft on short notice. The aircraft can accommodate 2 to 3 patients on stretchers and there are also good resting and cooking facilities for the crew on board.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre “JRCC” at its headquarters in Reykjavík.
The Icelandic Search and Rescue Region is demarcated by the following coordinates:
73° 00‘ N, 20°00‘ W
73° 00‘ N, 00° 00‘W
61° 00‘ N, 00° 00‘W
61° 00‘ N, 30°00‘ V
58° 30‘ N, 30°00‘W
58° 30‘ N, 43°00‘W
63° 30‘ N, 39°00‘W
70° 00‘ N, 20°00‘W
73° 00‘ N, 20°00‘W
