The two agencies on Feb. 1 signed the 2020 Joint Contingency Plan of the United States of America & the Russian Federation in Combating Pollution on the Bering & Chukchi Seas, which allow them to collaborate on a response plan to instances of pollution in the water space bordering the U.S. and Russia.
In the U.S., the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District Commander and Sector Anchorage is responsible for the operational aspects of the plan, the agency said.
“This is an important agreement between the U.S and the Russian Federation that ensures coordination between respective authorities and actively promotes the protection of our shared interests in these environmentally and culturally significant trans-boundary waters,” said Vice Adm. Scott Buschman, U.S. Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations. “We look forward to continuing our necessary and productive relationship with the Marine Rescue Service and the opportunity to conduct joint training and exercises in the near future in order to ensure the protection of our nations’ critical natural resources.”