Tour of US Coast Guard icebreaker HEALY and Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service

Seventeen Navy League members participated in a tour at the US Coast Guard Base Seattle on Thursday, April 14th.  In the morning, we enjoyed a briefing and walk through of the Maritime Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) for Puget Sound.  A joint venture by the US and Canada, the control center monitors, informs and, if necessary, directs all commercial shipping in Puget Sound and the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca.  We also visited the Joint Harbor Operations Center (JHOC), which coordinates across federal and state agencies for maritime search and rescue, safety and law enforcement.  After lunch in the galley, we spent the afternoon touring the US Coast Guard Cutter HEALY.  Recently returned from a 22,000-mile circumnavigation of North America, the ship steamed through the Northwest Passage and in a clockwise direction around the continent, conducting scientific surveys and search-and-rescue training along the way.  The Navy League tour included a visit to engineering spaces, the flight deck, and the bridge, where members were impressed by the computer-assisted controls that allow the 420-foot icebreaker to operate with a crew of just 85.  Our thanks again to Mike Bove of the VTS and LTJG McCulloch, USCG of the HEALY for their thorough knowledge and gracious hosting of the Navy League.