Adventures of an Icebreaker: Before the polar bears, there were walruses

Walruses on ice floe. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Matt Masaschi

We are following the progress of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, homeported in Puget Sound.

Before the Healy reached the desolate Beaufort Sea north of Alaska, and the polar bears on ice floes, they were in the Chukchi Sea with different marine critters.

“Walruses off the port bow!”

As Coast Guard Cutter Healy transited through the marginal ice zone of the Chukchi Sea, the crew saw the first patches of ice during the second leg of Healy’s months-long Arctic deployment.

Perched upon the giant floating chunks of ice were several walruses serving as Arctic Ambassadors welcoming Healy’s crew north of the Arctic Circle! The walruses seemed just as curious as to what a gigantic red ship was doing in their ice field as the crew was of seeing them!