The future remains unclear for US Coast Guard’s Healy icebreaker
Healy is the branch’s sole icebreaker operating in the US territorial waters in the Arctic. (Photo: US Coast Guard)
The cutter has been in Seattle where repairs have been taking place to electrical fire damage but no estimate has been given on its return to service leaving the US Coast Guard without surface assets to patrol the Arctic.
The future of the Healy medium icebreaker remains undefined after the vessel had an electrical fire in July during its Arctic deployment. Forced to return to its home port in Seattle, Washington, weeks before concluding its mission, the cutter has been undergoing repair and maintenance without a clear schedule to resume operations.
Speaking to Shephard, an official of the US Coast Guard (USCG) 13th District – Pacific Northwest explained that the service was “working on fixing it”. Its return to perform missions, however, has yet “to be determined”.
The uncertainty puts the USCG in a risky position as it
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
Read this Article
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 2 free stories per week
- Daily news round-up email service
- Access to all Decisive Edge email newsletters
Unlimited Access
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
- Unlimited access to all published premium news
More from Naval Warfare
-
![New Jersey becomes latest Virginia-class submarine commissioned]()
New Jersey becomes latest Virginia-class submarine commissioned
The new Block IV submarine is the first in the class to be designed for a gender-integrated crew.
-
![Netherlands ties Naval Group into Walrus submarine replacement]()
Netherlands ties Naval Group into Walrus submarine replacement
The new submarines have been scheduled for delivered from the 2030s onwards.
-
![Airbus and Rohde & Schwarz boost Royal Navy connectivity]()
Airbus and Rohde & Schwarz boost Royal Navy connectivity
A Memorandum of Understanding between the companies is aimed at increasing communications resilience for the fleet.
