By Bill Cook, MSCLANT Public AffairsÂ
The port at Thule Air Base, located on the northwest coast of Greenland, and 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, is thickly frozen nine months of the year. For roughly three months beginning each July, the ice thins on Baffin Bay to less than four feet – thin enough for icebreakers to clear a path for ships to enter. This brief window of opportunity is relied upon for the resupply of the base for an entire year, and is why Military Sealift Command-contracted supply vessels are a welcome sight.
MSC-chartered cargo ship MV Ocean Giant sits in North Star Bay, Greenland, with equipment and supplies for personnel on Thule Air Base. The annual mission to resupply Thule - Operation Pacer Goose - is always conducted in the Arctic summer. (U.S. Navy photo by Brian Hill)