The U.S. Coast Guard’s new polar icebreaker Storis arrived in Auke Bay on Wednesday afternoon. It’s the ship’s first visit to its future home port of Juneau.
The 360-foot ship is designed to operate in the Arctic and expand U.S. presence in the region. It’s a stopgap while the Coast Guard builds a new fleet of icebreakers called Polar Security Cutters.
Coast Guard officials say it will likely be a few more years before the ship is officially homeported in Juneau, bringing an estimated 190 Coast Guard personnel and their families to town.
Alaska’s congressional delegation – particularly Sen. Dan Sullivan – has discussed plans to dock an icebreaker in the capital city for years. Last year, the Coast Guard made the official announcement after Congress passed a spending bill that appropriated money for the ship’s purchase.
A ProPublica investigation of the ship published earlier this year revealed it has a design problem and a history of failure.
The ship was previously named the Aiviq, but was renamed the Storis in honor of another Coast Guard ship that was stationed in Juneau in the 1950s. The Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum will host a free screening of a documentary about the original vessel and its history on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Storis is only visiting for the weekend and will dock in downtown Juneau on Saturday afternoon. The Coast Guard will hold a commissioning ceremony for the ship downtown on Sunday morning.
The ship is open for free public tours on Thursday at the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal from 2 to 4 p.m. and Friday from 8 to 10 a.m.
The ship is expected to leave Juneau on Monday.
