Coast Guard Cooperation in the Arctic: USCGC Healy's Continental Shelf Mission

In recent years, our nation's Arctic economic, environmental, and security interests have escalated as reduced ice extent provides increased accessibility to the Arctic. Various other Arctic nations seized opportunities to submit territorial claims and retain potential fuel and marine resources...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Krause, Michael, Berkson, Jonathan
Other Authors: COAST GUARD WASHINGTON DC MOBILITY AND ICE OPERATIONS DIV
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2011
Subjects:
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
Snow
Ice and Permafrost
Marine Engineering
*ARCTIC REGIONS
*COAST GUARD
*CONTINENTAL SHELVES
*ICEBREAKERS
*MERCHANT VESSELS
CARGO
CARGO SHIPS
COMMERCE
COOPERATION
CUTTERS
DEFENSE SYSTEMS
FUELS
GREENLAND
LAW ENFORCEMENT
MISSIONS
NATIONS
POLAR REGIONS
REPRINTS
RESCUES
RESOURCES
HEALY(MERCHANT VESSEL)
Arctic
Greenland
McMurdo Station
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice
Icebreaker
permafrost
Thule Air
Thule
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA552733
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA552733
Description
Summary:In recent years, our nation's Arctic economic, environmental, and security interests have escalated as reduced ice extent provides increased accessibility to the Arctic. Various other Arctic nations seized opportunities to submit territorial claims and retain potential fuel and marine resources. As commercial interests plan for offshore drilling, this raises the specter of marine environmental pollution and spills of national significance. Additionally, it is no longer uncommon for passenger and commercial cargo vessels to venture into the Arctic, navigating in relatively uncharted waters, far from disaster assistance. For the last 140 years, the Coast Guard has placed itself at the forefront of Arctic operations as icebreakers and ice-strengthened cutters from the Revenue Cutter Bear to USCGC Healy conducted law enforcement, community outreach, regional exploration, defense operations, research support, and search and rescue missions. Over the past few decades, primary icebreaker operations shifted from traditional Coast Guard missions to focus more on polar region scientific support as well as ship escorts and channel breakouts for Thule Air Force Base in Greenland and McMurdo Station in Antarctica. As the need for traditional Coast Guard mission support in the polar regions re-emerges, icebreakers will prove invaluable in supporting national polar interests. Published in Coast Guard Proceedings, p58-60, Spring 2011.

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