New London - The United States Coast Guard International Ice Patrol closed the 2009 Ice Season on July 28, ending one of the busiest years for the unit since its inception.

More than 1,200 icebergs drifted into the transatlantic shipping lanes between February and July, making 2009 the 11th most severe Ice Season in IIP's 97-year history. Last year, nearly 1,000 icebergs traveled south from Greenland's glaciers to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.

The past two seasons showed a significant increase over the previous few years, with 324 icebergs in 2007, 11 in 2005 and none in 2006.

This year, unusually extensive and persistent sea ice over the Grand Banks protected the icebergs from deterioration, increased the hazard to navigation for vessels transiting the North Atlantic and challenged the reconnaissance techniques of the Ice Patrol early in the season since icebergs are more difficult to detect when they are embedded in sea ice, according to IIP.

Despite these conditions, IIP continued its perfect record of preventing iceberg collisions in the North Atlantic for ships heeding its warnings.

Ice Patrol members also took on several major changes to their operations this season. Less than a week before opening the Ice Season on Feb. 20, IIP relocated its office space from Groton to Fort Trumbull in New London.

Ice Patrol also began using new aircraft with new iceberg-detection sensors that had not yet been used for ice reconnaissance. Using the new system, IIP members flew 53 missions and logged more than 370 flight hours.

The unit's chain of command also changed. Formerly a subordinate unit of Coast Guard Atlantic Area in Portsmouth, Va., IIP began reporting to the First Coast Guard District in Boston on May 31.

Although the Ice Season has officially closed, work at Ice Patrol continues. The unit will host the North American Ice Service annual conference in downtown New London later this month.