This past Tuesday, a US Coast Guard icebreaker reached the North Pole, becoming the first American surface vessel to get to the top of the world unescorted.
Meet the Healy
The Seattle-based ship, named US Coast Guard C, is the fourth US vessel to have reached the North Pole. Ships are generally unable to achieve this unaided; in fact, a submarine usually accompanies vessels in order to break the ice and clear the waterways.
Recently, the gradual melting of polar ice has caused a lot of activity to spring up in the region; nations from all over the world are eyeing the opportunity to obtain oil, gas deposits, mineral reserves, as well as transit and shipping routes, such as the Northwest Passage. Most notably, Russia is already setting ground to claim part of the Arctic as Russian territory.
A Mission to Research, Protect and Get to Know the North Pole
The Coast Guard declared in a statement that, as the arctic region continues to open up to development, the data gathered by the Healy during its North Pole cruise will become essential in order to understand how the scientific processes of the Arctic have developed and how to responsibly exercise care for the region. Currently, the United States has three icebreakers in the area, but only two of them, including the Healy, are fully operational. President Barack Obama has also declared that the construction of a new icebreaker would be sped up in order to project their presence in the congested Arctic.
The Healy is 420 feet long and weighs 16,000 tons. Furthermore, its 30,000-horsepower engine can break over 10 feet of ice. The ship carries over 100 crew members and passengers, including a team of scientists from GEOTRACES, an organization that studies the geochemistry of the oceans. The vessel started its journey on August 9 from the Dutch Harbor in Alaska, and arrived at the Pole a week ahead of schedule.
The Ice is Still Too Soft
The Coast Guard press release goes on to state that the ice has gotten sloshy quite close to the pole, which was an area the vessel, packed with research labs and oceanographic deck winches, was confident would allow for on-ice science experiments. Because of the softness of the ice, it was not safe to stand or walk around the area. The Healy, however, has been conducting ice rescue training, as the opportunities for exploration and research on the ice become available.
