After an engine room fire sidelined the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy, repairs are complete and the ship is heading north from Seattle to maintain a presence in the Arctic Ocean, where it is expected to arrive around Oct. 25, not returning to its homeport of Seattle until about Dec 15.
The crew will support scientists conducting three science missions during Healy’s fall 2024 Arctic deployment. Other science of opportunity across a broad spectrum of disciplines will also be supported as time and weather allow, the Coast Guard said.
The first mission supports the Arctic Port Access Route Study. During this mission, the cutter will perform bathymetric mapping in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
The Coast Guard has initiated an Arctic port access route study to analyze current vessel patterns, predict future vessel needs, and balance the needs of all waterway users by developing and recommending vessel routing measures for the Arctic, the Coast Guard said. The Arctic PARS may lead to future rulemaking or international agreements that consider coastal communities, fishing, commercial traffic, military needs, resource development, wildlife presence and habit, tribal activities, and recreational uses.
For the second mission, Healy will embark 20 early career polar scientists and their mentors on an Arctic Chief Scientists Training Cruise sponsored by the National Science Foundation and University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. These early career scientists will conduct multidisciplinary research, including mapping to fill critical bathymetric gaps and scientific sampling across various disciplines, in addition to developing skills in shipboard leadership, coordination, and execution.
The final mission of the deployment will support other science of opportunity to include sea floor mapping for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Coast Survey.
“We are thrilled to support numerous diverse research objectives in the northern polar region this fall. In an era of increasing vessel traffic, our work will contribute to navigation safety in a region where existing soundings are sparse,” said Capt. Michele Schallip, Healy’s commanding officer. “We are elated to have been able to reschedule our opportunity to help inspire future principal investigators in the Early Career Scientist mission. Healy’s crew, port engineering staff, and General Electric Verona worked diligently during our inport to ensure the cutter is ready to safely operate in the remote, unforgiving Arctic environment.”
Healy is the United States’ largest polar icebreaker and the Coast Guard’s only icebreaker explicitly designed to support Arctic research. The platform is ideally specialized for scientific missions, providing access to the most remote reaches of the Arctic Ocean. Healy is designed to break 4.5 feet of ice continuously at three knots and can operate in temperatures as low as -50 degrees Fahrenheit.
If we were serious about maintaining an Arctic presence, then we would homeport this ship in Alaska. Dutch Harbor, Kodiak or Seward would work perfectly.
With Russia and China being so close to our Alaskan border that Alaskan politicians are calling that the New Norm⁉️ – there should be Coast Guard or other vessels in those waters 24/7, 365! Kodiak, Sewers – when the Statue of Liberty goes down where I live maybe you’ll get serious to the serious threat we are facing. Doesn’t anybody in Alaska watch Sean Ryan podcast??
Seattle is a much better place because it has access to ship repair facilities, replenishment supply chain, engineering services, and housing for personnel that are not present to the same degree in any of the places you recommend.
That can easily change with a push to move funding for the cutter to Alaska ports. Those jobs would also move to Alaska. Win, win. Who says there is no solution to the problem?
Ya whidbey we can take aboard warf rats as well. Seattle used to be good now you need bodyguards downtown.
The Coast Guard ship ain’t gonna scare or deter the Russkies or the Chinese. The Navy needs to rotate a DDG through the Bering Sea on a continuous basis. I recommend the USS Daniel Inouye and the USS Ted Stevens for this assignment. The USS Spruance would be a great third.
Why is it such a big deal when a Coast Guard ship actually sails? Ships weren’t made to sit at the docks but the Coast Guard sure has perfected that.
Senator Sullivan: it is obvious we need more than one cutter to patrol our Alaskan waters. Let’s quit sending funding to Ukraine, Israel and fund our own Coast Guard for our own protection.
We can build a 1200 foot cruise liner in 36 months yet it takes us 20 years to build any type of military ship. The thing is outdated before it sails the first trip. We are in a hell of a way in this country at the moment.
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