U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy transits the Puget Sound en route to the Arctic region on June 19, 2025. The Healy will conduct high-latitude science and research missions in the Arctic. PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS BRIANA CARTER/U.S. COAST GUARD
The United States Coast Guard cutter Healy left its homeport of Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 2025, as it embarked on a monthslong Arctic deployment. The crew aboard the 128-meter icebreaker will support two high-latitude missions to study the formation and movement of sea ice and the pathways followed by Atlantic and Pacific waters in the Arctic, and ocean circulation patterns in the East Siberian and Laptev seas.
“We are eager to return to the Arctic,” said Healy’s commanding officer, Capt. Kristen Serumgard. “Healy is uniquely positioned to advance scientific understanding of the Arctic environment, directly supporting security and defense of the nation’s northernmost borders and maritime approaches.”
Working with the Office of Naval Research (ORN), the first mission focuses on installing and servicing instruments for ORN’s Arctic Mobile Observing System (AMOS). AMOS uses a network of robotic oceanographic instruments to study sea ice dynamics and the circulation of water masses in the Arctic. The program focuses on developing technologies to support continuous, long-term scientific observations of the Arctic marine environment.
Healy’s second mission, in partnership with the U.S. National Science Foundation, is to recover, service and replace an array of long-term subsurface moorings and conduct surveys in support of the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS). Healy last supported AMOS and NABOS missions in 2023.
Healy is one of two large icebreakers currently operational for the United States. It’s the largest U.S. icebreaker and is equipped with scientific instruments focused on high-latitude Arctic research.
The research provides information on how the physical, operational and strategic environments are likely to evolve, which helps guide Arctic military strategy and future Coast Guard operations. Healy also conducts other Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue, ship escorts, environmental protection, and enforcement of laws and treaties.
The icebreaker, commissioned in 1999, completed its last Arctic deployment on December 12, 2024, after a 73-day mission that included scientific research, search and rescue, and training exercises. The Coast Guard is awaiting a new generation of polar security cutters, and U.S. President Donald Trump has committed to expanding the icebreaker fleet.
Serumgard assumed command of Healy on June 10, having previously served as chief of operational forces at the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area Command. She relieved Capt. Michele Schallip during a change of command ceremony presided over by Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area. Serumgard has over 11 years of sea time on Coast Guard cutters Fir, Hollyhock, Mackinaw, Orcas and Polar Sea, as well as a tour leading the International Ice Patrol.