U.S. Coast Guard Boards Foreign Transshipment Vessels and Shadows Russian Surface Groups During Arctic Patrol

By Malte Humpert (gCaptain) – 

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton has returned from a 110-day Arctic patrol. Stratton extended U.S. surface vessel presence this summer to above 72°N latitude, waters traditionally reserved for icebreakers and ice-capable ships. With USCG icebreaker Healy in port for part of the summer for emergency repairs, Stratton completed a lengthy mission above the Arctic Circle traveling in the Chukchi and Bering Seas.

The increased U.S. presence comes at a time when both Russia and China have stepped up their engagement in the region. Stratton tracked and observed two Russian surface action groups transiting through U.S. waters above the Arctic Circle, including the first joint Russian-Chinese exercise. The foreign vessels operated off the Alaska coastline around October 1 traveling south through the Bering Strait, with Stratton heading north at the same time.

Stratton also conducted boardings of foreign Arctic transshipment vessels to enforce safety regulations. 

The Bering Strait has seen increasing shipping activity over the past decade with more than 400 commercial vessels now passing through the strait, according to recent Congressional Coast Guard testimony. The majority of cargo volume passing through the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska comes from the shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas. 

The Coast Guard did not immediately reply to a request for additional details about where the boardings occurred and what vessels were inspected. 

“We met foreign presence in the Arctic, demonstrating our ability and resolve to protect our most challenging border and we found new ways to extend our presence, devising means to refuel at sea in the high latitudes. We boarded U.S. and foreign vessels to ensure compliance with legal and safety regulations,” stated Capt. Brian Krautler, Stratton‘s commanding officer.

AIS tracking data show Stratton’s extensive operation throughout the Chukchi and Bering Seas. Without an ice classification the 418-foot Legend-class national security cutter stayed well clear of persistent ice coverage in the western Chukchi Sea. During one of several transits through the Bering Strait it passed within a few miles of Russia’s easternmost land mass, similar to Russia and China’s maneuvers between Little Diomede Island and Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. 

“Given the lack of obvious military threats in the Region and U.S. Arctic in general, there are still inherent, real-world issues that need to be managed. It is always safe and necessary to assume that any state vessels (and aircraft) are conducting intrusive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations when in the area,” explains Dr. Troy Bouffard, Director of the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Though such activity is completely legal outside of territorial waters, presence is key to interdicting it.

A more recent threat is the targeting of subsea critical infrastructure, such as recent incidents in the Irish Sea and the presumably accidental occurrence off Finland’s Baltic coast, according to Bouffard.

Stratton and its crew also engaged in the first at-sea refueling of a national security cutter in high latitudes; especially crucial in a remote region where patrol times can be extensive and land-based infrastructure is limited. The U.S. does not have any deep water ports above the Arctic Circle, with Dutch Harbor being the closest support base to the Arctic. Plans to construct a deep water port at Nome, Alaska recently experienced a setback when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers canceled a solicitation due to cost overruns.

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