The cutter Storis, the first polar icebreaker acquired by the Coast Guard in more than 25 years, departed a shipyard in Mississippi this week for its maiden voyage on the way to a temporary home in Seattle.
The ship, formerly known as the Aiviq when it worked in the oil industry, was acquired by the Coast Guard in December to expand operations in the Arctic region.
The Coast Guard runs the U.S. fleet of government icebreakers, with the service saying it needs eight to nine polar icebreakers to carry out its mission.
Right now, the Coast Guard has only two operational polar icebreakers: the Polar Star and Healy. The Storis will support Coast Guard missions in the high-latitude regions until the delivery of the Polar Security Cutter program of future polar icebreakers.
The Storis underwent modifications while in the shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to enhance its communications and self-defense capabilities.
“The Coast Guard will continue evaluating the [Storis’] condition and requirements to achieve full operational capability,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The ship will eventually be permanently based in Juneau, Alaska.
“Until the necessary shore infrastructure improvements are completed in Juneau, Storis will be temporarily berthed in Seattle, Washington, with the service’s two other polar icebreakers,” the Coast Guard said.
The vessel will be manned with a hybrid crew of Coast Guard personnel and civilian mariners.
The Storis is the second Coast Guard vessel to bear the name. The original Storis, known as the “Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast,” conducted 64 years’ worth of icebreaking missions in Alaska and the Arctic before it was decommissioned in 2007.
The Storis is commanded by Capt. Keith M. Ropella, the Coast Guard’s chief of cutter forces at Coast Guard headquarters in the District of Columbia. He previously commanded the Polar Star from July 2022 to July 2024.
