China Deploys Five Icebreakers Near Alaska in Unprecedented Arctic Move

In a significant show of Arctic prowess, China has dispatched five icebreaking research vessels to the region. This is the first time the country has operated more than three icebreaking vessels in the Arctic simultaneously. 

The flotilla is led by China’s largest domestically-built icebreaker Xue Long 2. The Polar Class 3 vessel departed from Shanghai on July 5. It has since been operating in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas adjacent to Alaska and Russia. Its ultimate destination is not currently known. Last summer the vessel concluded its Arctic sailing with a port visit to Russia’s largest Arctic city Murmansk. Both the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian military have shadowed Xue Long 2’s activities in recent weeks.

Xue Long 2 was joined in the Arctic on July 30 by Shen Hai Yi Hao, an ice-class research vessel specialized on ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) and AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) owned by China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (COMRA). It carries the submersible Jiao Long designed for dives down to 7,000 meters. Shen Hai Yi Hao departed from Qingdao on July 16 and is currently operating in proximity of Xue Long 2 to the northwest of Alaska at the edge of Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

The Ji Di icebreaking research vessel has also reached Arctic waters operating in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia. The vessel entered service last year for China’s State Oceanic Administration. Ji Di departed from Qingdao days after Shen Hai Yi Hao on July 21. Based on information from its AIS signal, its destination could be Arctic Bay in Canada.

A fourth ice-class vessel, Zhongshandaxue Ji Di, set course for the Arctic from China’s southern port of Nansha on July 16. Previously operated by Canada and then Russia, the 42 year-old vessel was acquired by Sun Yat-sen University in 2021. This will be the vessel’s second voyage to the Arctic for the university. Last summer’s expedition lasted more than two months covering around 11,500 nautical miles. The vessel has passed through the Bering Strait and has entered the Arctic Ocean to the west of Alaska. 

China’s newest icebreaking vessel Tan Suo San Hao entered into service in December 2024 for the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. With a Polar Class 4 designation the vessel is intended for year-round operation in thick first-year ice. It is China’s first comprehensive scientific research ship designed for global deep-sea exploration, including manned deep-sea submersibles. Tan Suo San Hao is currently operating in the northern Bering Sea and is about to enter Arctic waters.

Despite its short service history, Tan Suo San Hao has already raised questions if its mission is purely scientific. It recently made an appearance in the Philippines’ maritime zone. In May the vessel remained inside the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone prompting the country’s Coast Guard to dispatch one of its largest cutters, BRP Teresa Magbanua, on an intercept course.

The U.S. Coast Guard is currently operating one icebreaker, the USCGC Healy, in the Arctic. A second vessel, the newly acquired Storis may set course for the Arctic later this month after its commissioning ceremony on August 10 in Juneau, Alaska. 

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