The Council heard a report from the U.S. Coast Guard that they have experienced various VHF outages in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska throughout the summer and into the winter. Extra caution is advised in areas of Shelikof Strait, Southern Cook Inlet, and offshore Southeast Alaska. Repairs are ongoing, but due to extreme weather and remote locations, intermittent outages are expected to continue in various locations in both Southeast and Southcentral Alaska. Mariners are reminded that due to mountains terrain, and limited VHF coverage, even with fully operational VHF sites, the USCG cannot hear VHF calls in all areas, and mariners should have secondary means on communications onboard at all times, file a float plan with a trusted person, and carry safety equipment onboard in the event you are in a survival situation. The Coast Guard command centers can be reached at the following numbers:
Sector Juneau Command Center: 907-463-2980
Sector Anchorage Command Center: 907-428-4100
17th District command center: 907-463-2000
