U.S. Coast Guard admiral asks for Arctic resources
The U.S. Coast Guard needs facilities and equipment in the far north to secure U.S. claims and prepare for increased human activity, says Coast Guard commander of Alaska.
Climate change is bringing vast change to the Arctic, and previous ice-covered areas are becoming more accessible for shipping. Russia, for one, is making an aggressive push to establish new sea lanes on top of the world.
The advent of Russian shipping across the Arctic is of particular concern to Alaska and the U.S. The 56-mile wide strait lies between northwestern Alaska and Siberia, separating the North American and Asian continents and connecting the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean.
- The Bering Strait will end up becoming a significant marine highway in the future, and we’re seeing it with Russia, the way they are promoting this maritime transportation route above Russia right now, today, Colvin told The Associated Press in an interview recently, National Public Radio reports.
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Rear Admiral Christopher C. Colvin is commander of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District headquartered in Juneau, Alaska, and is responsible for all Coast Guard operations throughout Alaska and the Alaskan maritime. The Seventeenth Coast Guard District includes portions of the North Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea and encompasses an area approximately the size of the continental United States.
Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined.
The admiral calls for new icebreakers and new bases in the Arctic. According to Colvin, the U.S. Coast Guard has three icebreakers, of which only one — the Healy — is operational. The two other icebreakers, the Polar Sea and the Polar Star are undergoing repairs and will be back in service in 2011 and 2013, respectively.
The U.S. Coast Guard also needs a base in northern Alaska since the closest base is in Kodiak, about 1,000 miles to the south, Colvin said. He suggested building a base in Barrow, the nation’s northernmost city, with a hangar large enough to house a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft and H60 helicopters.
