The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) in the ice Oct. 3, 2018, about 715 miles north of Barrow, Alaska, in the Arctic. While Healy is the newest Coast Guard icebreaker, as a medium-duty icebreaker it is not capable of breaking through thick ice as well as Polar Star.
POLAR PRESENCE DEPENDS ON NEW POLAR SECURITY CUTTER In a not too distant past, the Arctic Ocean was a predictably impenetrable ice mass during winter. Today it is neither impenetrable nor predictable. The once solid frozen barrier to the approaches to America’s northern border now has large areas of ice-free water for much of the year, inviting shippers
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Coast Guard OUTLOOK
attracted by shortcuts between Asia and Europe, fishermen looking to operate farther north, tourists travelling to see the once inaccessible region, and mineral, oil and gas exploration. According to the commander of both U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense
NYXOLYNO CANGEMI/U.S. COAST GUARD
BY EDWARD LUNDQUIST
