By Karen Robes Meeks
After three months at sea, the 420-foot US Coast Guard Cutter Healy recently came back to its Seattle home base.
Crewmembers went to the Arctic to support Coast Guard operations and various National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Office of Naval Research missions.
"During our deployment, we successfully transited 14,000 nautical miles and spent 50 cumulative days above the Arctic Circle, reaching as far north as 81 degrees north latitude,” said Capt. MaryEllen Durley, Healy’s commanding officer. “As the Coast Guard's sole Arctic icebreaker, we forged new relationships, trained new Arctic sailors, and conducted high latitude research that will help forecast the impact of seasonal ice formation critical to maintaining the Arctic maritime domain.”