Page 14: of Marine News Magazine (October 2022)

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Insights

Lisa Ferdinando / U.S. Coast Guard

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda L. Fagan provides testimony to the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and

Maritime Security, on the state of the Coast Guard and her vision for the service, Washington, D.C., July 14, 2022. zone. The high latitudes are increasingly of interest. China

What are the Coast Guard’s priorities in the has declared interest as well in the Arctic. So having on the

Arctic and how has recent Russian aggression water presence to counter that is critical to our sovereignty impacted these?

LF: I get asked this question a lot too. And I always start as a nation. And like I say, we’re pretty excited about get- with, we are an Arctic nation because of Alaska, and we ting those Polar Security Cutters ? elded.

We also sometimes get asked about, obviously Russia have national security interest in the Arctic, which is why bringing the Polar Security Cutters online are so critical has invaded Ukraine, and that’s put on pause a number of to us as a nation. Halter Marine has been contracted to multilateral engagement opportunities like the Arctic Coast build the Polar Security Cutters for us. We’re building them Guard Forum, Arctic Council, North Paci? c Coast Guard through a joint program of? ce with the Navy, but the Coast Forum. But when it pertains to the maritime boundary line that runs through the bearing, and the interaction that we

Guard will operate those vessels for the nation. Polar Secu- rity Cutter is my top acquisition priority. We’ve not ? elded as a Coast Guard have with our Russian counterparts along a brand new Polar Security Cutter or icebreaker since the the MBL, that interaction, almost a daily interaction oc- mid ‘70s. I was on the Polar Stars as a young ensign, the casionally, a Russian ? shing vessel will come right up to ship was not new then. And then she is still in operation the maritime boundary line, or maybe just a little over. We have contact with our Russian counterparts who go out and and it’ll sail south for us here a little bit later this summer.

But just as the Russians have interest in their side of the bring that ? shing vessel, ensure that it’s back over the line.

Arctic, we have interest in our side of the Arctic, and you And so to the extent that it’s important to maintain sover- need to generate actual presence with a ship to ensure that eignty and enforce along that maritime boundary line. I was just speaking with our D-17 commander who’s based we are enforcing and maintaining our own national sover- eignty, particularly as it pertains to the exclusive economic in June. In fact, just last week, we’re having this conver- 14 | MN October 2022