Race for the North: An original Full Measure investigation


There’s a growing competition between the U.S., Russia and China, and it’s taking place in a part of the world that may surprise you: The Arctic. That desolate expanse of sea and ice almost one and half times the size of the United States. You might call it a new ‘Cold War.’ Scott Thuman reports how the U.S. could be falling behind, in this race for the north.

On a summer day at a remote base in Alaska, we board a Coast Guard H-60 helicopter and head out to see a patch of ocean the U.S. military calls a primary new battlefield in the rush to establish a stronghold in the Arctic.

And board this 420-foot Coast Guard ship underway on its next long voyage.

Scott: “So we left Coast Guard Station Kodiak. Now, we’re over the Gulf of Alaska, and just behind me here, that is the Healy. It is the most technologically advanced and newest icebreaker, but as always, they say they could use more in what many people are terming a race to the north.

As we land, there is no doubt this is a critical asset, both a show of force and a scientific lab at sea.

When we met her, the Healy was heading north to sail through the Arctic Ocean along what’s fast becoming a vital, efficient sea route between Europe and Asia. This region, the backdrop for heated competition.

Though Arctic ice is receding, powerful icebreaking ships are still vital to create sea lanes for much of the year. And Russia’s fleet dwarfs all others, with dozens of ships, some nuclear-powered and new ones launched every couple of years.

Aside from the Healy, America has only one more in that class, the Polar Star, more than 40-years-old, a decade past its intended life.

Admiral Nathan Moore: Today, the Arctic is a growing business, you know, both internationally and certainly from the United States standpoint ourselves.

Admiral Nathan Moore recently took command of the Alaska region for the Coast Guard.

Scott: When it comes to the Arctic, you’ve said north to the future. What do you mean by that?

Admiral Moore: Well, I think what we see is as the traffic increases in the Bering Sea, and that is happening both tourism, you know, economic traffic, both from industry and governmental traffic, scientific research, et cetera. You know, there is more traffic going up to the Arctic and through the Bering Sea than we’ve ever seen before, and that’s forecasted to continue.

Because there are so many prizes in the Arctic. The faster shipping routes can, in China’s case, save thousands of miles and weeks of time for goods traveling between Asia and Europe. Then, there are giant mineral resources, including gold, uranium, and rare earth elements. Oil and gas reserves could be worth $35 trillion.

Russia hopes to draw 30 percent of its national production from the region by the year 2050. President Trump authorized expanded oil drilling in the arctic. President Biden has set stricter limits.

Then Coast Guard Deputy Commandant Admiral Charles Ray under congressional questioning last year.

Senator Ted Cruz: In your assessment today, who is the dominant power in the arctic circle?

Admiral Charles Ray: You can see the extensive shoreline that Russia has, you know they are a force to be reckoned with, just because of geography. They have got the geography, and they have got the natural resources there. So in the near term, I think Russia is certainly the nation that we should really be paying close attention to, but we cannot ever take our eyes off the ball on China.

China, despite its distance from the Arctic, is aggressively making its own claim: building icebreakers and funding infrastructure projects. The U.S., critics say, is playing catch up. President Trump approved production of six new icebreakers to be built by 2029, the same year the Healy and Polar Star are slated to retire.

The U.S. government is also considering building arctic bases and a port, as the Russians have already done.

President Biden, too, has asked Congress to provide more cash, at least $1 billion.

Admiral Moore: I think the Coast Guard and the United States has made great strides in getting polar security cutter on the way for us. I mean, we have construction ongoing right now for the first polar security cutter. Second one under contract, those ships are going to be incredibly useful for us, both high latitudes and the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Scott: Do you wish they were already here, though?

Admiral Moore: I think we have coverage that we continue to maintain with our current Polar Star, which is an aging asset. I was a junior officer on Polar Star my first tour in the Coast Guard 29-years-ago. And that ship is been incredibly successful, but needs to be replaced.

To see the needs ourselves, we head further north, to the remote town of Kotzebue, just 175 miles from Russia.

Scott: They call this the gateway to the Arctic, but even as a remote as it is, it’s getting busier, and more people means a bigger strain.

Especially on Coast Guard crews detailed to provide life-saving Arctic patrols. Lt. Robert McDonnell is one of our pilots today.

Lt. Robert McDonnell: So, we got cruise ships going all the way through the Bering Strait all the way up and over. It’s unprecedented times for people being able to pass through the Arctic in vessels that weren’t made to pass through ice because there is no ice during the summer now.

Back on the deck of the ice breaker Healy, the crew trains for more missions in the arctic, anxious for more ships like it to join the fleet, and fully aware that in the race for the north, the U.S. is being left behind.

Sharyl (on-camera): Who decides who lays claim to what in the Arctic?

Scott(on-camera): Each of the eight nations that have land bordering the Arctic Sea have made claims at least partially to either territory or its natural resources. But sometimes they overlap, like with Russia, and then the U.N. gets to decide.

https://fullmeasure.news/news/shows/race-to-the-north

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6 thoughts on “Race for the North: An original Full Measure investigation”

  1. In 2013 President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry gave back 7 islands near Alaska including Wrangell Island which is as large as Rhode Island.

    1. Thank you, I have never seen anyone besides myself post this bit of Treason.

      +. They were given to Russia without getting anything in return.

      = For the young and other victims of public schools. It is not just these Islands that matter, but it gives Russia the right to claim 10 to 12 miles of land beyond the shore. That is the International rule, some countries claim 200 miles beyond the shoreline. That means only the Russians can fish or traverse this waterway. If there is not 10 to 12 miles, the 2 countries split the difference.

  2. Control of the North Pole is vital to the National Security of the United States.
    There were 2 Air Force Bases both hosting B-52 bombers in North Dakota during the Cold War. Half the Fleet from the Minot Air Force Base was airborne over the North Pole or on their way to or from the North Pole. I am not sure about the Grand Forks Air Force Base. Nuke laden B-52s took off and landed 24/7/365 days a year for 45 years. Yes, we were a first strike target.

    Concentric circles spaced 10 miles apart extending for 150 miles surrounded the bases. Defensive and Offensive missiles were located here.

    The shortest route to the Soviet Union/Russia is across the North Pole

    The 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron was also stationed in Minot until Senator Ted “the Swimmer” Kennedy had them moved to the Boston area. The only military spending the Swimmer favored was if it benefited Massachusetts.

  3. Every 3 to 4 months I receive a survey/questionnaire from National Geographic (NG) asking what topics covered by NG most interest me and asking that I offer suggestions for future NG articles. For two years I have asked/suggested National Geographic do articles on the Positive Effects of global warming/climate change — there ARE Positive Effects, one of which is an open ship navigation route across the Arctic Ocean from the Norwegian Sea to the Bering Sea. I am quite certain that new Arctic Ocean shipping route would reduce the cost of shipping from Europe to Asia.
    I have heard that the ‘Northwest Passage’ sea route is open part of the year across Northern Canada and Alaska.
    I have heard of better farming yields in Iceland and on farms further North in Canada. Heard stories about more wildlife in Northern Canada and in the Interior of Alaska due to warmer weather.
    We hear so many negative stories about climate change, let’s hear more positive stories related to climate change.

  4. Gordon REID SAUNDERS

    Any attempt to publish anything that might be favorable to US interests will be harpooned by the illiberal progressive left

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