Murkowski calls for more icebreakers

On Aug. 6 U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called on the Bush administration to issue its Arctic policy update, including funding for new icebreaker construction. Increasing marine activity in the Arctic and the heightened interest in Arctic energy and mineral resources have stepped up the need for U.S. icebreakers, she said.

According to a statement from Murkowski’s office the United States has only two active polar icebreakers compared with Russia’s 15, including seven nuclear-powered vessels.

“I strongly agree with Admiral Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, that ‘we are watching our ice-breaking capabilities decline and we are losing ground in the global competition,’” Murkowski said. “I am extremely concerned that if we don’t start planning immediately to build new icebreakers, we will fall even further behind the other Arctic nations and be unable to provide the safety and security that the changing Arctic marine environment will require.”

Murkowski cited an Aug. 5 incident in which three vessels en-route to seismic survey operations in the Canadian Beaufort Sea became caught in sea ice about 60 miles west of Point Barrow. The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy was about 400 miles from the ice-bound vessels at the time of the incident. The vessels eventually freed themselves from the ice.

“We were fortunate that the vessels were able to free themselves and that the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy was only 400 miles away,” Murkowski said. “While the Healy happened to be in the area, the reality is that we do not have the icebreaking capability that America needs to respond to incidents like this. … While the administration appears to support an increased icebreaker capability, I call on the White House to fund a new icebreaker construction initiative.”

—Alan Bailey