Storis icebreaker completes 112-day inaugural patrol, including monitoring of China-flagged research ships
- Mark Sabbatini
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Crew of U.S. Coast Guard vessel eventually slated to be homeported in Juneau to spend next six weeks training in Seattle
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Storis icebreaker reached its winter homeport on Friday to complete its 112-day inaugural patrol, which for now is Seattle rather than Juneau as local leaders are still in the early stages of a years-long process to ensure there is sufficient housing and vessel infrastructure to support operations.
The 360-foot-long Storis, built in 2012 as a private oil service vessel, was purchased and refurbished during the past year by the Coast Guard, making it the first "new" polar icebreaker in the fleet in more than 25 years. It was commissioned in a ceremony in Juneau on Aug. 10.
In early September, "the Storis entered the ice for the first time as a Coast Guard cutter to relieve Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) and monitor the Chinese-flagged research vessels Jidi and Xue Long 2," according to a press release issued by the Coast Guard on Saturday.
"Five China-affiliated research vessels operated in the Arctic region over the summer and Storis was one of several Coast Guard assets deployed to the U.S. Arctic to control, secure, and defend U.S. territory and sovereign interests," the release states.
The crew also conducted helicopter operations, gunnery exercises, established numerous operational and administrative programs, and held community outreach events during six port calls that provided tours to more than 1,500 people, according to the release.
“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 Capt. Corey Kerns, commanding officer of the Storis, said in a prepared statement. “Storis is different than most Coast Guard cutters, and this crew is proud and excited to demonstrate its value to the service and the nation.”
Some of the Storis’ differences are cause for concern among crew and other officials, who note the ship will need several years of upgrades to perform its intended duties. The purchase of the ship was pushed for many years by congressional members — including some in Alaska’s delegation — despite Coast Guard leaders initially stating they didn’t want the vessel because it "is not suitable for military service without substantial refit.”
The Storis began its life as the Aiviq, a private service vessel with a troubled history due in part to what experts called design flaws such as an easily-swamped rear deck that resulted in additional problems with mechanical and electrical equipment. Efforts to sell or lease the ship early during its life were made by Edison Chouest, the company that owned it, and some lawmakers advocating for the purchase received donations from the company.
Ultimately, the $125 million purchase occurred last year, in part due to multiyear delays in building new heavy-duty Polar Security Cutters that were supposed to begin launching in 2024, but the first of which may now not be ready until after 2030. Coast Guard and congressional officials have acknowledged the Storis is a stopgap vessel able to perform limited duties for now and then serve a support role for the heavy-duty ships when they are deployed.
"Storis is temporarily berthed in Seattle, alongside the service's other polar icebreakers, until necessary infrastructure improvements are completed in Juneau where the cutter will be permanently homeported," the Coast Guard’s press release states.
The Storis is next scheduled to enter a six-week training period "where the ship and the crew will undergo major training evolutions, system and program recapitalization, and a two-week underway phase with scheduled engagements in Victoria, Canada," according to the Coast Guard.
"We’re excited to return to family and friends and enjoy some of the experiences the Seattle area has to offer,” Kerns said. “It will be great to see the waterfront full of red hulls soon too. But we still have a lot of training to do for our USCG crew to be ready to take full responsibility of the ship and will continue to work closely with our civilian shipmates to get us ready.”
The eventual intended homeporting of the Storis in Juneau has been hailed as a milestone by local leaders, since eventually up to 190 additional Coast Guard personnel and up to 400 family members are expected to reside in the capital city as a result. Municipal government and school district leaders, among others, are working on plans and projects to accommodate the influx, as well as address needs such as upgrading shore facilities at the current Coast Guard station downtown.
The icebreaker surfaced again as an agenda item at a Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting last Monday night. City Manager Katie Koester told Assembly members that Pederson Hill and Telephone Hill are two CBJ-owned subdivisions that could meet the Coast Guard’s housing needs.
Development work is already underway on a first phase of housing on 66 lots at Pederson Hill by the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority, with additional development involving other property owners and developers also in the works, according to a memo presented by Koester. A controversial plan to build mid-rise apartments with 140 units on Telephone Hill is in the initial stages, although a planned Oct. 1 eviction of 13 existing residences set to be demolished was postponed for a month due to lack of proper notice being served.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
