(SEATTLE) — The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy (WAGB 20) returned to Seattle on Thursday following a 73-day Arctic deployment supporting scientific research missions, search and rescue operations, and training exercises in the region.
The crew aboard Healy, a 420-foot polar icebreaker, conducted three distinct phases of activity throughout the cutter’s 2024 Arctic fall deployment.
The first phase was a collaboration between the Coast Guard, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the University of New Hampshire. The interagency science mission to the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska combined oceanographic buoy deployments with a coordinated mapping effort to survey uncharted waters and acquire depth data along a portion of the Alaskan Arctic Coast Port Access Route Study (AACPARS) corridor. The AACPARS corridor is a Coast Guard-proposed preferred vessel route from Utqiaġvik, Alaska, to the demarcation point of the border between U.S. and Canada.
During the second phase, Healy hosted 10 postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty members from various institutions supporting the U.S. NSF-funded polar early career scientist training project, with contributions from NOAA and the Coast Guard. The at-sea training and research opportunities for the early career scientists included seafloor mapping, water and sediment collection, and other scientific sampling across various disciplines in the operational areas of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas and within the marginal ice zone.
The time underway provided the early career polar scientists and their mentors with hands-on experience at sea, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to plan, implement, and lead future interdisciplinary scientific expeditions on U.S. Arctic vessels.
During Healy’s third phase, the ship conducted a late-season transit of the International Maritime Organization’s western Bering Strait routing measure through Russian territorial seas, ensuring a free and open Arctic region. The crew conducted multi-mission operations throughout the Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska and conducted training above the Arctic Circle to prepare future high-latitude polar operators.
The training included helicopter operations and search and rescue exercises with Joint Rescue Coordination Center Juneau (JRCC Juneau) and Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. The exercise enhanced readiness to respond to vessels in distress and facilitated valuable shipboard helicopter training for the cutter and air crews. Healy also rendezvoused with the Coast Guard cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) north of the Aleutian Islands for a series of coordinated at-sea exercises.
While sailing in southeast Alaska, Healy was one of several Coast Guard and good Samaritan vessels who responded to the fishing vessel Wind Walker search and rescue case, which took place near Couverden Point, Alaska.
Healy’s crew made a port visit to Juneau, where the crew hosted over 430 visitors aboard for tours of the cutter. The Coast Guard announced in July it will home-port a commercially procured icebreaker in Juneau.
“Healy’s Arctic west fall deployment demonstrates the agility and dedication of the crew,” said Healy’s commanding officer Capt. Michele Schallip. “In addition to contributing to navigation safety and support of scientific research, our deployment exercised the broad array of Coast Guard missions we conduct in the Arctic.”
Healy is the Coast Guard’s only icebreaker specifically designed to support Arctic research. It provides high-latitude U.S. presence and scientific access to areas too challenging for most research vessels to reach.
– U.S. Coast Guard
