Posted on 06/13/2025 6:21:27 AM PDT by texas booster
On the way to its initial Arctic deployment U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Storis (WAGB 21) has transited through the Panama Canal. The polar class 3-equivalent vessel departed from the Bollinger Shipyards in Pascagoula, Mississippi on June 3, 2025.
The vessel arrived near the canal’s northern entrance on June 11. After an 18-hour hold outside Limon Bay near the Gatun locks, Storis proceeded through the first set of Panama Canal locks on its route to the Pacific. The transit took around 8 hours and the vessel exited the canal through the Miraflores locks late on June 12.
U.S. military ships have been entitled to “expeditious passage through the Canal at all times” since handing-over operation of the canal to Panama in 1999. In recent months there have been ongoing tensions with the Trump Administration over control of the key waterway.
During a visit in February Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that Panama “agreed to no longer charge fees” to U.S. government vessels passing through the canal, though he later walked back his comments and Panamanian officials denied his claims. It is unclear if or when Panama’s government plans to implement any preferential treatment for U.S. vessels.
Rubio also secured guarantees from Panama to lessen China’s influence over the canal including by exiting from a Chinese lending program.
It is not clear if Storis received a priority transit slot to pass through the canal. Traffic, especially in the southbound direction to the Pacific was light at the time with the canal authority’s website indicating just a half-day wait.
The canal authority and the USCG media office did not respond ... icebreaker paid a fee to transit or received free passage. Transits can cost up to $500,000 for the largest vessels, with most large ships paying between $60,000 and $150,000 in fees.
(Excerpt) Read more at gcaptain.com ...
The new icebreaker is the initial vessel in a push to significantly expand the U.S. fleet. A key step toward producing numerous ice-class vessels for the Coast Guard came earlier this week with Canadian shipbuilder Davie announcing plans to acquire assets in Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas. These developments could place the state at the heart of U.S. efforts.
Ship width = canal width - 4 feet
In 1968, I went through the canal (Pacific to Gulf) in the USS Puget Sound AD-38, a Destroyer Tender...
Uh, its summer in the arctic. Head south. 😊👍
It’d be quite an experience to be a plank owner on the Storis.
Military
This Icebreaker Has Design Problems and a History of Failure. It’s America’s Latest Military Vessel.
https://www.propublica.org/article/aiviq-icebreaker-military-coast-guard
Sucks to be them. I hate cold weather.
$125 million price tag. Compared to $1 billion for an icebreaker that meets specs.
The new icebreaker is the initial vessel in a push to significantly expand the U.S. fleet.
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that’s a resounding NO.
It is not “new”; its a purchased & renamed ship [ always bad luck for mariners to rename a ship ] Former name was Aiviq, built as the icebreaking anchor handling tug supply vessel to support oil exploration and drilling in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. It makes a paltry 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) in 1 m (3.3 ft) ice. ABS rated A3. Displacement 4,129. Aka, an embarrassment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Storis_(WAGB-21)
It is not a step to anything. Rather its a stop-gap measure to shore up the decrepit CG ice-braking “fleet” of 3 ships.
The 3 actual new icebreakers are in trouble - one may or may not launch next year, the other 2 are still on paper. Regardless, they are under-powered, committee-designed junk, costing way more than they should.
The Russians twin nuclear engined ships do 1.5–2 knots knots through 9 feet of ice. Come complete with squash courts and saunas, plus gourmet food. Rated Icebreaker9 Displacement 32,747–33,327 tons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_22220_icebreaker
The Finns have offered to build whatever state-of-the-art icebreaker we want - conventional or nuclear - cheaply and fast. But “Made in America” has struck, and so we will settle for embarrassments merely to prove a point.
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