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NOTE: This article was published at YahooNews on Sunday, Jan. 8th.
Russian-flagged tanker Renda follows a path made in the ice by the crew of the Healy (the U.S. Coast Guard's only functioning icebreaker), 250 miles south of Nome on Jan. 6.
(from YahooNews.com) ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A Coast Guard icebreaker is cutting a path through icy seas for a Russian tanker carrying much-needed fuel for the iced-in Alaska city of Nome.
The 370-foot ship, hauling more than 1.3 million gallons of fuel, is scheduled to arrive later Monday or Tuesday. It was less than 190 miles away on Saturday.
Video and still photo images released by the Coast Guard show the two vessels moving steadily through ice jammed seas.
“They’re navigating through ice right now, taking a direct route for now,” said Jason Evans, the CEO of Sitnasuak Native Corp, one of the companies undertaking the delivery. “They considered going through patches where there might be thinner ice, but determined that that would have taken them on a longer route.”
The city of about 3,500 people on the western Alaska coastline normally gets fuel by barge. But it didn’t get its last pre-winter fuel delivery because of a massive storm and it could run out of crucial supplies before spring.
The Russian tanker came upon ice about a foot thick very early Friday near Nunivak Island, a large island in the eastern Bering Sea, the Coast Guard said.
The tanker is being shepherded by the Healy, the Coast Guard’s only functioning icebreaker — a ship of special design with a reinforced hull made to move through ice.
“It’s going basically as planned,” Evans said.
If the mission is successful, it will be the first time petroleum products have been delivered by sea to a Western Alaska community in winter.
Sitnasuak officials have said they settled on the Russian tanker delivery plan after determining it would be much less expensive and more practical than flying fuel into Nome. The vessel, which is certified to travel through ice 4 feet thick for long distances, normally delivers fuel to communities in the Russian Far East.
Reprinted here for educational purposes only. The information contained in this AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press. Visit news.yahoo.com/icebreaker-helping-fuel-ship-reach-iced-ak-city-093528243.html for the original post.
Questions
1. a) Where is Nome? Be specific.
b) What is the population of Nome?
2. a) How does the city of Nome usually get its fuel?
b) Why didn’t Nome get its pre-winter fuel delivery this year?
3. a) Before attempting to make the fuel delivery by tanker, what option did Sitnasuak Corp. consider?
b) Why did they decide against this option?
4. When successfully completed, why will this fuel delivery be significant?
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