KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The nation’s largest icebreaker, the 420-foot Coast Guard cutter Healy, arrived here today (Tuesday) for a brief port call before continuing on to its homeport of Seattle. The Healy’s arrival in Kodiak comes at the conclusion of the cutter’s Arctic West Summer 2008 mission.
The Healy crew spent the past four months in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean studying the ecosystem and the Extended Continental Shelf. The Healy will depart Kodiak Wednesday (today) and is scheduled to arrive in Ketchikan on Saturday. The Healy will not be available for public tours.
The Healy, which was commissioned in 2000, is the nation’s newest and largest of the nation’s three icebreakers. The cutter has a permanent crew of 80. Its primary mission is support of scientific studies. In addition, the Healy is capable of other missions such as logistics, search and rescue, ship escort, environmental protection, and the enforcement of laws and treaties in the polar regions.
