The US Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Healy arrived in Seattle late last week after conducting scientific research in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean and after a fire ignited on board.
On July 25, while underway in the vicinity of Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, Healy experienced an electrical fire on a transformer impacting one of the ship’s two main propulsion motors. The crew swiftly extinguished the fire with no personnel casualties.
Healy’s crew and contractors restored power to the affected motor. However, out of abundance of caution, the cutter returned to Seattle, arriving there on Friday, August 16, to ensure all redundant systems are fully operational before returning to the Arctic.
Coast guard Vice Commandant Admiral Kevin E. Lunday had earlier said that the incident on Healy occurred in one of the vessel's engineering spaces just as it began its summer patrol in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska.
The coast guard said Healy was nonetheless able to conduct scientific research in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean in support of the Arctic Observing Network. The icebreaker's crew and embarked researchers conducted more than 150 conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) casts to investigate the circulation and properties of the water, monitored for signs of harmful algal blooms, and collected observations on marine mammals and birds in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas.
Additionally, two subsurface moorings were deployed that are equipped with multiple sensors collecting oceanographic data on the physical, chemical, and biological state of the Arctic Ocean. The coast guard said this year’s work builds on more than two decades of research to improve understanding of the Pacific Arctic ecosystem in a changing climate.