The U.S. Coast Guard’s Healy icebreaker is set to return to the Arctic next month. The news comes just over a month after the 27-year-old icebreaker experienced an electrical fire near Banks Island off the coast of Nunavut, Canada.
Following the fire, the Healy returned to its homeport of Seattle for repairs, which took about three weeks.
The fire led to the cancellation of two scientific missions and a patrol of the Northwest Passage. Now, the Coast Guard is working with the U.S. National Science Foundation and other partners to identify new research opportunities for the remaining months of the calendar year.
The absence of the Healy and 50-year-old Polar Star icebreaker, which was undergoing dry dock maintenance for much of the summer, left the U.S. without surface vessel presence in the Arctic.
This comes as China and Russia have ramped up activity in the Arctic region. Following a cruise through the Bering Strait, China’s Xue Long 2 icebreaker made a visit to Murmansk on the northwestern tip of Russia at the end of August. The ship is China’s first domestically produced icebreaker and was one of three polar research vessels the self-described "near-arctic" country operated in the Arctic this summer.
Russia also recently launched its first “combat” icebreaker as both nations bolster their Arctic capabilities. The U.S. Department of Defense described the “growing alignment” between China and Russia concerning in a report published by the Pentagon earlier this year.
Once new scientific missions have been selected, the Healy will embark on a week-long journey back to the Arctic Circle, where it will operate for the remainder of the year.
