The US refused to exercise in the Arctic
The United States Coast Guard decided to abandon the exercise in the Arctic because of fears that the only American heavy icebreaker would break and that Russia would have to ask for its rescue. This writes the American edition of Business Insider.
The article says that the icebreaker Polar Star (“Polar Star”) is over 40 years old and it “clings to life”, as the former commandant (commander) of the US Coast Guard Admiral Paul Zukunft knows very well. He spoke out when the US National Security Council asked him to send an icebreaker through the Northern Sea Route for exercises on freedom of navigation.
"We take apart the details from a ship of the same type only for this thing to work, and I cannot guarantee you that it will not have serious technical failures during the exercise on freedom of navigation, and then I will have to turn to Russia to tow it to safe place. So now is not the time to do it, ”Tsukunft himself said about his answer.
The publication writes that the United States is experiencing difficulties in the struggle for the Arctic, primarily due to the lack of icebreakers, which is especially noticeable in comparison with Russia. Moscow has dozens of icebreakers, and Washington has only two, and only Polar Star is a heavy type capable of operating in the Arctic.