President Obama’s renaming of Alaska’s Mount McKinley to Denali earlier this week was just an icebreaker. But it wasn’t the only one on the president’s mind.
The more substantive reason for the president’s three-day trip to Alaska was to highlight the issues of climate change. And recognizing the changes already evident in the Arctic and Antarctic, President Obama on Tuesday called for an investment in the Coast Guard’s fleet of icebreakers. Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard has two operational heavy icebreakers, the USCG Cutter Polar Star and the USCG Cutter Healy, both homeported in Seattle.
That’s down from seven icebreaking cutters after World War II and compared to Russia’s 41 icebreakers and Canada’s two heavy and four medium breakers.
Obama wants to accelerate by two years the plans to build a new icebreaker and will ask Congress for additional funds to add more ships in the future. Independent analysis determined earlier this year that the Coast Guard needs three heavy and three medium icebreakers to adequately patrol the Arctic and Antarctic. The Coast Guard also is waiting for a report on whether it’s feasible to refurbish the Polar Star’s sister ship, the Polar Sea, which is inactive and tied up in Seattle.
The need is there in both polar regions, but most notably in the Arctic as climate change and the loss of sea ice invites more interest from countries looking at opportunities for shipping, fishing and exploration for oil, natural gas and minerals. The U.S., Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Iceland have exclusive economic zones above the Arctic Circle. And other countries, including China, also are plying Arctic waters.
With that increase in activity comes a need for the equipment and resources to protect the world’s polar regions. Beyond protection, the Coast Guard’s icebreakers also can and have served as floating laboratories for the scientific community as it studies the changing environment.
“Arctic ecosystems are among the most pristine and understudied in the world, meaning increased commercial activity comes with significant risks to the environment.” the White House said in a release in advance of Tuesday’s announcement.
Noting President Obama’s recent approval of Arctic oil-drilling permits for Royal Dutch Shell, some, including fellow Democrat and former Vice President Al Gore, have criticized the contradiction in allowing the fossil fuel exploration at the same time that climate change alarms are sounding.
Regardless, the increase in activity by all countries now operating in the Arctic requires the resources to respond to spills, ships in distress and other emergencies. Currently, the area north of Alaska where Shell is drilling is being patrolled by the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley, the only U.S. asset now available to respond immediately to a spill or other emergency, the New York Times reported last week.
Congress should move quickly to allocate funds to build the additional icebreakers.
Building the new cutters represents an opportunity for the state’s shipbuilders. And once built, if the Coast Guard is looking for a homeport for a couple of the ships, we have a suggestion.
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