A polar icebreaker is destined for what will eventually be its new home port in Juneau. It set out on Tuesday from Pascagoula, Mississippi, 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 ha