US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy suffers onboard fire, propulsion failure while en route to Arctic

The US Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Healy suffered a fire in one of its main propulsion motors on August 18 while underway for operations in the Arctic, the coast guard said in a statement on Monday, August 24.

The ship was 60 nautical miles off of Seward, Alaska, en route to the Arctic when an electrical fire was reported at 21:30 local time.

A fire team disconnected the affected motor, and the fire was confirmed extinguished by 21:56. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

Due to the fire, Healy‘s starboard propulsion motor and shaft are no longer operational, and the ship is transiting back to its homeport in Seattle for further inspection and repairs.

The coast guard said that all of Healy‘s scheduled Arctic operations have been cancelled as a result of the fire.