Our long-standing collaboration has been underway since the late 1980s. During this decades-long relationship, a great deal of work has advanced the operational planning and preparedness for a potential joint pollution response in the transboundary waters of the Russian Federation and the United States. This 43rd meeting and exercise, though delayed more than a year by the COVID pandemic, continued to advance the shared marine environmental protection interests and capabilities of our two nations.

This multifaceted event brought together representatives from the Russian and United States federal governments, State of Alaska, pollution response industry, U.S. federally recognized tribes and Russian indigenous people representatives, and nonprofit organizations in a collaborative, facilitated setting including technical and cultural exchange.

Day 1 was attended by the two principal agencies of the Joint Planning Group: The Russian Federation Marine Rescue Service and the United States Coast Guard who reviewed and updated the current Joint Contingency Plan and prepared the Two-Year Work Plan for 2021-2023.

Days 2 and 3 consisted of the exercise portion and was accomplished via a Day 2 seminar and Day 3 tabletop exercise of a pollution scenario in the Bering Strait. Each of these days also included site visits to view U.S. pollution response systems, assets, equipment and local points of interest.

For more information, please contact Catherine.Berg@noaa.gov.