The US Coast Guard Cutter Storis, the service’s newest commissioned icebreaker, arrived in Seattle on October 3 after completing its 112-day inaugural patrol. The vessel, which is the Coast Guard’s first new polar icebreaker in over 25 years, conducted its first Arctic patrol north of the Bering Strait.
The Storis operated under the Coast Guard Arctic District in support of Operation Frontier Sentinel, a mission to counter foreign influences in or near US Arctic waters.
In early September, the cutter entered the ice for the first time to relieve the cutter Healy and to monitor two Chinese-flagged research vessels, the Jidi and Xue Long 2.
The US Coast Guard stated that five China-affiliated research vessels operated in the Arctic region over the summer, and the Storis was one of several assets deployed to defend US territory and sovereign interests.
“In the span of a few months, this crew has gained proficiency in the basics of operating the ship and we were ready to challenge ourselves,” said Captain Corey Kerns, the commanding officer of the Storis.
According to the coast guard, the cutter will now enter a six-week training period in Seattle and will be temporarily berthed there alongside the service's other polar icebreakers until necessary infrastructure improvements are completed in its permanent homeport of Juneau, Alaska.
