Polar Sea
The Russian icebreaker Yamal, Canadian icebreaker Louis S. St. Laurent and the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea rendezvous near the North Pole on 1 August 1994.
Steve Wheeler USCG

Arctic Rendezvous

A chance meeting near the geographic North Pole symbolized a new era of international cooperation among the largest Arctic nations.
By Captain Lawson W. Brigham U. S. Coast Guard
January 1995
Proceedings
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On 23 August 1994—one day after becoming the first Canadian and U.S. surface ships to reach the North Pole from the Alaskan coast—the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent and the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Sea (WAGB-11) joined the Russian nuclear icebreaker Yamal in a historic gathering. More than 550 people met on the Arctic ice, only 20 nautical miles from the North Pole.

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Captain Lawson W. Brigham U. S. Coast Guard

Captain Brigham is the commanding officer of the USCGC Polar Sea (WAGB-11), which recently completed a historic scientific expedition across the Arctic Ocean.

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