U.S. Coast Guard Keeps Close Watch on Chinese Icebreakers off Alaska
The U.S. Coast Guard has been closely watching China's Arctic research flotilla for the past month, and continues to monitor the operations of two Chinese-flagged vessels in waters of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf - outside the bounds of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, but inside the limits of U.S. seabed mineral claims.
The medium icebreaker USCGC Healy has been operating in the region to provide presence and surveillance, and for the last week, Healy's crew has been monitoring the movements of the Soviet-built icebreaking tug Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di (flagged with the Liberian registry) and the brand new ice-class research vessel Jidi. Both were encountered in an area of the ECS about 200-250 nautical miles to the north of Utqiagvik, Alaska, a small coastal village on the Beaufort Sea.
On Tuesday, USCGC Healy - supported by a Hercules long-range SAR aircraft out of Air Station Kodiak - responded to intercept Jidi, and the crew monitored and queried the vessel. Healy intercepted Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di on Sunday.
“This operation highlights the value of our ice-capable fleet,” said Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District. “The U.S. Coast Guard is controlling, securing, and defending the northern U.S. border and maritime approaches in the Arctic to protect U.S. sovereignty, and Healy’s operations demonstrate the critical need for more Coast Guard icebreakers to achieve that.”
Healy is one of the Coast Guard's two purpose-built oceangoing icebreakers. The "interim icebreaker" USCGC Storis, which began life as an offshore vessel and is currently operated by a civilian merchant mariner crew, is nearby in the Bering Sea. USCGC Waesche, a National Security Cutter, is also in the region and has accompanied Healy for part of the mission.
In addition to Jidi and Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di, the flotilla of Chinese vessels recently spotted in the far north includes the Polar Class 3 icebreaker Xue Long 2; the new research vessel Tan Suo San Hao; and the Shen Hai Yi Hao, a conventional research vessel built to carry a deep-diving submersible.
In response to the increasing competition in the Arctic, the Trump administration is giving the Coast Guard more resources to expand its presence. With U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding, it is expanding the small port of Nome, Alaska at the north end of the Bering Sea, specifically to accommodate Coast Guard icebreakers. And to expand the icebreaking fleet, the administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act contains $4.3 billion to pay for the service's future heavy icebreaker series, the Polar Security Cutter, plus $3.5 billion more for a medium icebreaker series.