samp

“The Coast Guard is greatly appreciative of the expert consult advice on weather and routes provided by experienced trans-Pacific sailors,” Douglas Samp, a Coast Guard search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a statement.

Samp said mariners are encouraged to have multiple layers of communication, including a VHF-FM DSC radio, HF DSC radio, satellite communications and a 406Mhz electronic position indicating radio beacon “as the notification of last resort to help search and rescue authorities locate their position in a time of need.”

Italy and France, for example, announced in February that they would send an unspecified number of their jointly manufactured SAMP/T air-defense systems to Ukraine this spring.

In addition, a SAMP/T anti-missile system pledged by France and Italy “should enter Ukraine in the near future,” Ihnat said this week.

But Douglas Samp, who oversees the Coast Guard’s search and rescue operations in the Pacific, said in a phone interview that vessels only began using Starlink internet service in the open ocean this year.