USCGC HEALY UPDATE

In March, Avondale Industries advised the Coast Guard that the July 1999 delivery date for HEALY would not be met. The revised delivery date is 29 October 1999. The Ice Trials Planning Team met after Avondale’s announcement to assess the impact on the trials schedule. After reviewing the many variables in play, it was concluded that all phases of the trials could be scheduled into the more compressed window by moving ice and science trials to the eastern Arctic. Key points in the revised schedule include:

Underway Crew Training                   07 DEC – 11 JAN

Initial Science Trials (PR Trench)       19-30 JAN

Helicopter Dynamic Interface            10-24 FEB

Baltimore VIP Port Call                     26-29 FEB

Icebreaking Performance Trials         07 MAR-01 MAY

Science Trials                                  01 MAY – 01JUN

The Coast Guard and the State Department have drafted a letter to the Canadian Department of External Affairs proposing that a meeting be held in Ottawa in late summer to discuss the feasibility of conducting trials in Canadian waters, including timing and locations. It is anticipated that HEALY will transit the Northwest Pass en route Seattle. A formal commissioning will be held in Seattle in September 2000.

POLAR ICEBREAKER UPDATE

POLAR SEA returned to Seattle on 18 MAY 99 after a 184-day deployment that included the McMurdo Station re-supply mission and two weeks of science support at the St. Lawrence Island polynia

(J. Grebmeier, Chief Scientist). In June POLAR SEA went into Todd Shipyard in Seattle for a six-month Reliability Improvement Project availability.

POLAR STAR is scheduled for a six week Arctic cruise to commence mid-July, followed by a deployment to the Antarctic in November.

USCG – NSF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

In May, the Coast Guard and National Science Foundation signed a Memorandum of Agreement updating the existing and quite dated 1982 MOA. The new document formalized a variety of interagency responsibilities and procedures currently in practice, established the Polar Icebreaker Planning Working Group, and formally recognized the Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee as a NSF-sanctioned advisory body to the Coast Guard for addressing science community requirements on Coast Guard icebreakers. The MOA also re-validated the existing incremental reimbursement of operating costs for NSF-funded research on Coast Guard ships.