On Thursday, the crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) returned home after completing a 73-day Arctic deployment that began on Oct. 1.
Healy (WAGB 20) is a 420-foot polar icebreaker capable of providing over 4,200 square feet of scientific laboratory space for up to 50 scientists and is capable of breaking 4.5 feet of ice.
This is the Coast Guard’s only icebreaker specifically designed to support Arctic research.
“Healy’s Arctic West Fall deployment demonstrates the agility and dedication of the crew,” said Healy’s Commanding Officer Capt. Michele Schallip. “In addition to contributing to navigation safety and support of scientific research, our deployment exercised the broad array of Coast Guard missions we conduct in the Arctic.”
During the first phase of the deployment, the crews worked with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. National Science Foundation and the University of New Hampshire in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas north of Alaska.