The first US ship to go to the North Pole was the Coast Guard's largest ship, the Healy.
Climate change is making waterways more accessible in the northern part of the country. The US has two aging vessels that are far cry from the Russian and Chinese fleets.
Since 1999, it has sailed to the North Pole. It was the first American ship to reach the pole. The expedition to the pole was part of a monthslong oceanographic mission that began in July and ended in September.
The crew was proud to reach the pole, and it was a highlight of their career, according to the release.
According to the Coast Guard, the trip supported US national security objectives by projecting a persistent ice- capable US presence in US waters and patrolling our maritime border with Russia.
The national strategy for the Arctic was updated this month and highlighted the objectives and role of the icebreakers.
The first pillar of the strategy is security, emphasizing the need to improve awareness to detect and track potential airborne and maritime threats.
The document says that the US Coast Guard needs to expand its fleet of icebreakers to support presence in the US and Europe.
The US Coast Guard's biggest ship can break through 4.5 feet of ice at a constant speed of 3 knots. The smaller of the two polar stars can break 6 feet of ice.
The ships are old. He was out for months after an engine room fire. As it gets farther beyond its 30 year service life, repairing it has become harder. Since 2010 the polar sea has been nonoperational and used for spare parts.
Current and former US officials compare the status of US icebreakers with the dozens that Russia operates or is building and the two that entered service in 2019. A new heavy icebreaker will be built by the late 2020s, according to China.
Russia has a large number of icebreakers. The US's only heavy icebreaker is likely to be referred to by Sen. King as "We have one."
The differing capabilities and roles of those icebreakers were cited by experts as the reason for pushing back against those warnings.
Rebecca Pincus, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Polar Institute, said during an online event in March that the idea that there's a race between Russia and the US in the northern part of the planet is not true.
Russia, which has the world's only nuclear powered icebreakers, has invested a lot in the area.
The US Coast Guard isn't responsible for supporting day-to-day commercial shipping, so we are comparing different types of activities here. The US Coast Guard needs more icebreaking vessels.
The commandant of the Coast Guard told lawmakers in July that building the capability and capacity is a priority.
The service is working on three new polar security cutters, which will be heavy and medium in size, and plans to build at least three medium-sized polar security cutters. The first ship will be delivered in 2025, but it has purchased long-lead-time materials for the second.
The polar security cutter hasn't been built since the 70's. A complex ship is what it is.
The Coast Guard is looking into acquiring a commercial icebreaker which it is excited about.
Even as the region warms, the only ships capable of consistent operations will be the icebreakers.
"It's hard to tell where the ice is going to be, and it changes a lot throughout the year," Boda said.
He spoke to reporters after he had sailed through the northern part of the country.
There was less ice as a result of that transit being conducted in the late summer. It was not possible for a conventional ship to do what we did. That is for certain.
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