{"id":32632,"date":"2018-12-01T01:37:12","date_gmt":"2018-12-01T01:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/01\/icebreaker-healy-returns-to-seattle-homeport\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:37:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:37:22","slug":"icebreaker-healy-returns-to-seattle-homeport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/12\/01\/icebreaker-healy-returns-to-seattle-homeport\/","title":{"rendered":"Icebreaker Healy returns to Seattle homeport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEATTLE \u2014 The crew of a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker returned to their homeport in Seattle following the ship\u2019s annual Arctic deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Healy returned Friday after 129 days away from home. Family members holding signs and waving welcomed it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the command of U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Greg Tlapa<\/a>, the icebreaker\u2019s crew completed three science missions, conducting physical and biological research in the Arctic Ocean in partnership with the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Office of Naval Research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Members of the U.S. Coast Guard look for family members as the cutter Healy docks at her homeport of Seattle on Friday. (Ted S. Warren\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The National Science Foundation research included studying the physical oceanography and offshore ocean currents in both the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Their findings will aid scientists charting biological conditions in the Polar region, according to the Coast Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Office of Naval Research\u2019s project is part a larger, multi-year effort to detail the effects of water inflow and surface force changes on ocean stratification and sea ice in the Beaufort Sea. The Healy\u2019s crew fixed special instruments on ice floes and anchored subsurface moorings to the seafloor, which will remain until they return next year, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mission for the National Science Foundation is designed to capture measurements from subsurface moorings on the Barrow Canyon Slope as well as data collected from Healy\u2019s onboard scientific equipment, according to the Coast Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the scientific research, the Healy also serves as an important military surface vessel capable of operating in the ice-choked waters of the Arctic Ocean. The icebreaker is used for search and rescue missions, escorting warships and other vessels, environmental protection and enforcing the law in the Arctic region.<\/p>\n\n\n\t