The Coast Guard cutter Healy suffered “a significant engineering casualty” while operating northwest of Port Angeles, Wash., and had to be towed back to homeport in Seattle July 13, Coast Guard officials said Friday.
There were no reported injuries but the 420’ Healy – the Coast Guard’s largest and most capable icebreaker – requires major repairs, the Coast Guard said. An investigation is underway into the extent of the damage.
With the Healy out of action, the cutter Storis, a 360’x80’ former Edison Chouest icebreaker/anchor handling tug commissioned in August 2025, is on patrol in the Arctic, where the Coast Guard has monitored increased foreign shipping activity in recent years. Last week the cutter to Munro monitored two Chinese research vessels transiting north through the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and over the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf in the Bering Sea.
“The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Healy acted with speed and skill in responding to this casualty,” Coast Guard commandant Adm. Kevin E. Lunday said in a statement July 24.
“While the Coast Guard remains underway and on mission in the Arctic, this casualty underscores the vital importance of President Trump’s vision to rapidly build and deliver a modern icebreaker fleet,” said Lunday. “The nation needs a highly capable icebreaking fleet operated by the Coast Guard to ensure year-round access to the region to protect our northern border in Alaska and maritime approaches in the Arctic.”
