The US paramilitary icebreaker entered the Northern Sea Route

The icebreaker of the US Coast Guard Healy made an exit to the Northern Sea Route from the North Pole. Prior to that, the ship was tracking Chinese icebreaking vessels off the coast of Alaska. Perhaps the exit of the American vessel is connected with the replacement of the buoy, which is being installed in that area as part of the Arctic research program. But Russian specialists are no longer involved in the work, and the projects themselves may be dual-use.

A few days ago, the icebreaker of the US Coast Guard Healy left the North Pole for the Northern Sea Route. This is evidenced by the AIS data of the courts. The icebreaker approached the Russian coast in The East Siberian Sea for 260 miles. However, I didn't stay there for long — no more than a day. Then he went back to the North Pole.

The icebreaker was approaching the route of the vessels along the Northern Sea Route. However, this year this section is not used due to ice, and Russian tankers and gas carriers bypass it along the coast.

What the paramilitary vessel was doing on the Northern Sea Route is unknown. It is quite possible that it replaced the autonomous buoy station, which was last changed two years ago.

Since 2002, within the framework of the joint Russian-American AVLAP/NABOS program, scientists from Russia, the USA and other countries conducted Arctic research. And in 2021, autonomous buoy stations of the Nansen Amundsen Basin Monitoring System (NABOS) were installed along the Northern Sea Route — for continuous recording of temperature, salinity and currents at different depths of the ocean. In this expedition, autonomous buoy stations were changed from the icebreaker. At the same time, there were no Russian scientists on board Healy at that time.

In addition, the specialists of the US Coast Guard conducted research at a distance of several hundred miles from the coast of Russia and according to their own programs.

For example, we worked out communication technologies that may have a dual purpose.

"According to the project "Communication capabilities in case of disaster in high latitudes in Alaska and in The US Coast Guard Research and Development Center is testing two technologies for covering the northern zones this year. The first uses a new constellation of satellites and provides the ability to automatically establish a voice call. The second is a system based on a regular cell phone that can connect to satellites in the absence of cellular coverage," the US Coast Guard reported on one of the social networks. They noted that the tests will show the service and its international partners the effectiveness of systems in remote areas.

Also, specialists from the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MITLL) and the Coast Guard Research and Development Center recorded infrared video and took images of the region for their use in new navigation systems using artificial intelligence.

It is noteworthy that on the eve of the icebreaker performed quite military functions. His Facebook page* says that the ship was following two icebreaking vessels approaching Alaska.

"Both vessels were located over the designated extended continental shelf of the United States and are two of five similar Chinese vessels that have recently operated in this region. In both cases, the US Coast Guard Arctic District deployed the US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy (WAGB-20) to monitor the vessels and conduct a survey," the US department reported.

They noted that surveillance even used the HC-130J Hercules aircraft from the US Coast Guard Airbase Kodiak.

"The Arctic is becoming an increasingly important area of strategic global rivalry. The Coast Guard is the only U.S. surface unit in the Arctic and works in conjunction with the Northern Command of the US Armed Forces and The Alaskan Command, providing constant surveillance of foreign vessels operating in and near U.S. waters in support of U.S. homeland defense and security operations," the Coast Guard said.

According to AIS, the scientific research vessel "Peter Kottsov", which provides navigation and hydrographic work on the Northern Sea Route, is being sent to the area of stay of the American icebreaker. Earlier, there was another Russian research vessel in the Healy approach area.

*Extremist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation