A polar icebreaker is destined for what will eventually be its new home port in Juneau. It set out on Tuesday from Pascagoula, Miss., on its maiden voyage as an official U.S. Coast Guard vessel, according to a news release.
The 360-foot ship is built to operate in the Arctic and is meant to increase U.S. presence in the region. The Coast Guard estimates it will bring hundreds of Coast Guard personnel and their families to Juneau in the coming years.
The ship was previously named the Aiviq. It was renamed the Storis in honor of another Coast Guard ship that was stationed in Juneau in the 1950s.
The Storis is intended to serve as a stopgap while the Coast Guard builds a new fleet of icebreakers called Polar Security Cutters. It’s the first icebreaker the Coast Guard has acquired in more than 25 years.
It’s not a new ship — the Coast Guard bought it for $125 million from a private entity late last year. Alaska’s congressional delegation tucked the funding to purchase it in a spending bill signed by President Joe Biden last year.
A ProPublica investigation of the ship published earlier this year found it has a design problem and a history of failure.
The Coast Guard announced last summer that Juneau would be the vessel’s homeport. It’s currently headed to San Diego, according to a vessel tracker. It’s expected to arrive in Juneau this August, but it will leave again to be temporarily berthed in Seattle until the necessary shore infrastructure is finished in Juneau.