WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) The only US heavy icebreaker will forgo an annual resupply mission to Antarctica and spend the coming winter in the Arctic to help to help protect America's maritime sovereignty and security in the region, the Coast Guard said in a press release on Thursday.
"The Arctic is no longer an emerging frontier, but is instead a region of growing national importance," Coast Guard Pacific Commander Vice Admiral Linda Fagan said in the release. "The Coast Guard is committed to protecting US sovereignty and working with our partners to uphold a safe, secure, and rules-based Arctic."
In past years, the heavy icebreaker, dubbed Polar Star, spent the Northern Hemisphere winter (summer at the South Pole), to resupply McMurdo Station in Antarctica. But this year's mission was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and aircraft used to supply McMurdo and other US research bases.
Critics claim that the United States has ignored the Arctic until recently, citing the availability of only one American heavy icebreaker, 43-year old Polar Star, plus a single medium icebreaker, the Healey.
In contrast, Russia operates a fleet of more than 40 icebreakers, with plans to begin escorting commercial tankers through the Arctic as the polar ice cap recedes due to climate change.
