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Cutter Healy News

14 Aug 2023

US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, Scientists Deploy Ice Stations

Researchers set up instruments to begin data collection on an ice floe next to USCGC Healy in the Beaufort Sea, Aug. 6, 2023. (Photo: Zane Miagany / U.S. Coast Guard)

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) crew and embarked researchers ventured onto a floe of multi-year ice for the first of three multi-instrument ice stations in the Arctic Ocean Basin late July and early August.As the Healy carefully approached and maintained position alongside an ice floe above 77 degrees north, the crew and a team of scientists, working in cooperation with the Office of Naval Research, (ONR) offloaded a diverse collection of equipment on to the floe carefully…

04 Oct 2022

US Coast Guard Cutter Healy Reaches the North Pole

(Photo: Deborah Heldt Cordone / U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) reached the North Pole Friday after traversing the frozen Arctic Ocean, marking only the second time a U.S. ship has reached the location unaccompanied, the first being Healy in 2015.Healy, a medium icebreaker, and crew departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Sept. 4, beginning their journey to reach latitude 90 degrees north. The cutter and crew supported oceanographic research in collaboration with National Science Foundation-funded scientists…

25 Aug 2020

US Icebreaker Suffers Fire, Engine Failure

File photo: Polar-class icebreaker Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Kellen Browne)

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) is making an early return to its Seattle homeport, and its future Arctic operations have been canceled after the 21-year-old medium icebreaker suffered a fire in one of its main propulsion motors last week.The electrical fire was reported at 9:30 p.m. on August 18 while the Healy was 60 nautical miles off of Seward, Alaska, where it had embarked 11 scientists for research and security mission in the Arctic.An onboard fire team disconnected the affected motor…

23 Jan 2020

US Icebreaker Polar Star Reaches Antarctica

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star breaks ice Jan. 16, 2020, near the ice pier of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. (U.S. Coast Guard photo NyxoLyno Cangemi)

The U.S. Coast Guard's sole heavy icebreaker arrived January 22 at McMurdo Station, following a 58-day transit from the United States. Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) departed its’ homeport of Seattle on November 26.This year marks the Polar Star’s 23rd journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations, in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program.The 399-foot…

14 Nov 2019

USCG PSC Equals meaningful Polar Presence

An emperor penguin poses for a photo in front of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star in McMurdo Sound near Antarctica on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. The crew of the Seattle-based Polar Star is on its way to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2018, the U.S. military’s contribution to the National Science Foundation-managed U.S. Antarctic Program. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen.

The Coast Guard needs a ship that can do more than just break ice; it needs a multi-mission ship to provide for the nation’s security, asserting its sovereign rights, and protecting its long-term economic interests. That ship is the Polar Security Cutter.Since Russia cashed the check in 1867 for the purchase of Alaska the U.S. has been an Arctic nation. Today, it is one of eight countries that have territorial land or seas above the Arctic Circle or in the polar region (six of those countries have Arctic Ocean coastline or an exclusive economic zone above the Arctic Circle). The U.S.

30 Apr 2019

USCG VADM Fagan Weighs in on Arctic Plans

 U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Senior Chief Petty Officer NyxoLyno Cangemi

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander discussed the service’s new Arctic Strategic Outlook, Polar Security Cutters and innovation efforts to improve maritime domain awareness in the high latitudes April 26, 2019, during the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Seattle.During her keynote speech at the symposium, Vice Adm. Linda Fagan said, “The tyranny of distance and the harsh Arctic climate pose significant challenges to agencies charged with providing maritime safety and security to all Americans, including the hundreds of villages and thousands of seasonal workers in the U.S.

29 Apr 2019

Coast Guard Discusses Developing Arctic Role

U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Senior Chief Petty Officer NyxoLyno Cangemi

The U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific Area commander discussed the service's new Arctic Strategic Outlook, Polar Security Cutters and innovation efforts to improve maritime domain awareness in the high latitudes Friday during the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Seattle.During her keynote speech at the symposium, Vice Adm. Linda Fagan said, “The tyranny of distance and the harsh Arctic climate pose significant challenges to agencies charged with providing maritime safety and security to all Americans, including the hundreds of villages and thousands of seasonal workers in the U.S.

01 Mar 2019

Fire Breaks out on USCG's Polar Star

Image Courtesy US Coast Guard

It seems the U.S. cannot do enough to fast-track the construction of its new icebreaking fleet, as the USCG announce last night that the 150-member crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star fought a fire at approximately 9 p.m. PST Feb. 10 that broke out in the ship's incinerator room about 650 miles north of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.After initial response efforts using four fire extinguishers failed, fire crews spent almost two hours extinguishing the fire. Fire damage was contained inside the incinerator housing…

22 Jan 2019

Coast Guard's Only Heavy Icebreaker Arrives at Antarctica

Photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen 
U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area

The 150 crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived Thursday in Antarctica along with a resupply vessel during Operation Deep Freeze – a joint military service mission to resupply U.S. interests in Antarctica.Homeported in Seattle, the 42-year-old Coast Guard cutter is the United States’ only operational heavy icebreaker, and the crew is making their sixth deployment in as many years to directly support the resupply of McMurdo Station – the United States’ main…

03 Dec 2018

Coast Guard Icebreaker Completes 129-day Arctic Deployment

The USCG Icebreaker Healy  (CREDIT NyxoLyno Cangemi USCG)

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy returned home Friday to their homeport in Seattle following a four-month deployment in the Arctic. In addition to providing presence and access in the Arctic during the 129-day summer deployment, the Healy crew completed three research missions in partnership with the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Office of Naval Research, conducting physical and biological research in the Arctic Ocean.

19 Oct 2017

Arctic Research Explores the ‘Roomba’ Approach

The pace and quality of oil spill research in the United States typically ebbs and flows as a function of two, if not three important variables. First, after the 1989 Exxon Valdez grounding, there was a flurry of activity to ramp up oil spill research because it had been dormant for so long. The need was recognized, with plenty of money made available. Primarily, this research centered on conventional spill remediation techniques – for example, a tanker or barge spilling oil – and not much else. Predictably, when memory of the spill faded, so did interest in research and funding followed.

08 Aug 2017

US Coast Guard Evaluating 3-D Printing

Ensign Abigail Isaacs uses a 3-D printer aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

For the average person, tracking down a spare part is often merely an annoyance. But for the crew of a Coast Guard cutter, the availability of spare parts can be important to mission completion or greatly affect their work environment. The Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, Conn., is currently studying how the use of 3-D printing technology might improve mission readiness through logistical support. Now in the evaluation phase, 3-D printers are available…

08 Sep 2015

US Coast Guard Cutter Reaches the North Pole

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy and the Geotraces science team have their portrait taken at the North Pole Sept. 7, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Cory J. Mendenhall)

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy arrived at the North Pole September 5, 2015, becoming the first U.S. surface ship to do so unaccompanied. Healy’s arrival to the North Pole marks the fourth time a U.S. surface vessel has ever reached the North Pole, and the first since 2005. The Seattle-homeported Healy departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska August 9 with a crew and science party of 145 people in support of GEOTRACES, a historic international effort to study the geochemistry of the world’s oceans.

21 Jul 2015

Commandant Discusses Coast Guard’s Role in the Arctic

Coast Guard Cutter Healy patrols the Arctic Ocean during a Coast Guard Research and Development Center joint civil and federal search and rescue exercise near Oliktok Point, Alaska, July 13, 2015. The Healy is a 420-foot icebreaker homeported in Seattle. (USCG photo by Grant DeVuyst)

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Paul Zukunft presented at last week’s 6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations in Washington, DC. Summarizing Adm. In my role as the Commandant of the Coast Guard, I view the Coast Guard as the lead federal maritime agency when it comes to all things Arctic. By “all things Arctic,” I mean everything from safety of life at sea, to marine environmental protection, to fisheries enforcement and a whole host of Coast Guard missions. They all reside within one service, the United States Coast Guard.

08 Jun 2015

NOAA Deploys Survey Ships for Arctic Charting Projects

NOAA ships spent the last several days preparing for their Arctic missions. Here, Chief Bosun Jim Kruger (front) works with Jason Kinyon and Lindsey Houska on NOAA Ship Rainier as they get ready to depart this week for the summer's first Arctic survey project, in Kotzebue Sound.(Credit: NOAA)

NOAA announced the official launch of its 2015 Arctic hydrographic survey season took place this morning, in Kodiak, Alaska, in a World Ocean Day ceremony which showcased the deployment of the NOAA ships Rainier and Fairweather. “Most Arctic waters that are charted were surveyed with obsolete technology, with some of the information dating back to Captain Cook's voyages, long before the region was part of the United States,” said NOAA deputy under secretary for operations Vice Admiral Michael S. Devany in remarks directed to the crews of NOAA ships.

18 Mar 2015

NOAA to Boost Arctic Nautical Charting

NOAA officers aboard one of the smaller survey vessels contemplate the vastness of the Chukchi Sea during the NOAA Ship Fairweather's reconnaissance survey in 2013. (Credit: NOAA)

NOAA plans increased 2015 Arctic nautical charting operations, coordinating with U.S. As commercial shipping traffic increases in the Arctic, NOAA informs it is taking steps to update nautical charts in the region. NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey will use data collected by two of its own ships, Rainier and Fairweather, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy and a private sector hydrographic contractor to cover nearly 12,000 nautical miles in the Arctic for use in updating its navigational charts.

28 Aug 2014

Unmanned Aircraft Makes USCG Icebreaker Landing

Coast Guard and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration researchers report the successful landing of an unmanned aircraft system on the flight deck of Coast Guard Cutter 'Healy', marking the first time a UAS has completed a take-off and landing aboard a Coast Guard icebreaker. UAS operators from AeroVironment, designers of the Puma All Environment UAS, working alongside researchers from the Coast Guard Research and Development Center and NOAA made necessary adjustments following several unsuccessful attempts to land the Puma AE on the icebreaker’s flight deck. High winds, heavy fog, and icing conditions delayed further attempts until Monday night when skies cleared enough for another attempt.

21 Aug 2014

Injured Crewman Medevaced from S.Korean Icebreaker

A man suffering from a head injury walks toward an ambulance after being medevaced from a South Korean icebreaker by a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to Barrow, Alaska, Aug. 20, 2014. (USCG photo)

A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter medevaced a crewmember suffering from a head injury from the South Korean research icebreaker Araon 250 miles north of Barrow, Wednesday. Watch a video of the rescue here. The helicopter crew, forward deployed to Barrow in anticipation of the forward operating location opening on Thursday, safely hoisted the 43-year-old male from the Araon and transported him to emergency medical personnel in Barrow. Coast Guard 17th District command center watchstanders received the medevac request from the crew of the Araon Tuesday afternoon.

16 Jun 2014

Arctic Circle Graduation Ceremony Aboard Cutter Healy

Two Stanford University students embarked on US Coast Guard Cutter 'Healy' in support of the 'Study of Under-Ice Blooms in the Chukchi Ecosystem (SUBICE)' mission were consequently unable to attend the university for the award of their degrees, which were instead conferred in a special graduation ceremony on board. Capt. John D. Reeves, Healy’s commanding officer, presided over the ceremony with Cmdr. Gregory Stanclik, Healy’s executive officer, acting as master of ceremonies as the bow steamed into the wind and sunshine bathed the flight deck. Resident writer, Dallas Murphy, filled the role of keynote speaker and offered a poignant…

24 Jul 2014

House Subcommittee Hearing Highlights “Dismal State” of U.S. Icebreaking Capability

Craig H. Allen, Sr.

At the July 23, 2014, hearing of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on “Implementing U.S. Policy in the Arctic” the committee chairman, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), opened the proceedings by holding up a graphic of the icebreaker fleets of the world—which depicts nearly 40 Russian icebreakers—and then commented on the “dismal state” of the U.S. icebreaker situation. The hearing background paper noted that the United States presently has only two working polar class icebreakers…

01 Aug 2014

Scientific Team Arctic-bound Aboard Cutter 'Healy'

A team of scientists from the Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) is to depart shortly from Seward, Alaska, for a technology evaluation in the Arctic aboard the Cutter 'Healy informs USCG. The RDC is leading a multi-agency team to support Arctic Shield 2014, a 17th Coast Guard District initiative. The purpose of their month-long evaluation is to improve Coast Guard capabilities in the Arctic region, specifically in the areas of boat operations, communications, navigational safety and oil spill response. “The RDC plays a key role in charting the service’s future efforts in the Arctic by evaluating new and emerging technologies for applicability to Coast Guard operations in a harsh and remote environment,” said Capt. Dennis Evans, commanding officer of the RDC.

01 Aug 2014

Coast Guard Preps for Arctic Research

Coast Guard Cutter Healy (USCG photo)

A team of scientists from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center (RDC) will depart from Seward, Alaska, for a technology evaluation in the Arctic aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy Aug. 8, the Coast Guard announced. According to the USCG, the RDC is leading a multiagency team to support Arctic Shield 2014, a 17th Coast Guard District initiative. The purpose of their month-long evaluation is to improve USCG capabilities in the Arctic region, specifically in the areas of boat operations, communications, navigational safety and oil spill response.

10 Aug 2014

USCG R&D Team Up Agencies for Arctic Awareness

For a second year, members of the Coast Guard Research and Development Center, based in New London, Connecticut, make their way to the large ice floes of the Arctic Ocean to conduct research and test new equipment and technologies with the aim of expanding our knowledge and enhancing our ability to respond to potential hazards and emergencies brought on by increased vessel traffic through the region. It’s a mission as big and as important as the Arctic itself and one they couldn’t do alone. When RDC members depart for the Arctic, they do so aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a 420-foot icebreaker homeported in Seattle, Wash., that serves as a perfect platform for conducting Arctic research.