MSC PAO 02-46
September 26, 2002
For more information, contact:
Marge Holtz or Cristina McGlew
(202) 685-5055

MSC ships re-supply Thule Air Base

Nestled along the rocky coast on the edge of an ice cap in northwest Greenland, sits Thule Air Base. Located 900 miles south of the North Pole and 950 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the base was secretly built by the U.S. government in 1951 in just 104 days as a refueling point for long-range bombers potentially directed toward the Soviet Union. Since then, Thule's mission has changed. The base is now the home of the U.S. Air Force's 12th Space Warning Squadron as well as Danish, Greenlandic and American contractors.

Every summer since 1952, U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command ships and their civilian crews have re-supplied this remote base during Operation Pacer Goose.

Depending on the time of year, there are anywhere from 400 to more than 700 inhabitants who look forward to receiving the necessary supplies. MSC-chartered MV Green Wave and MV Gus W. Darnell braved the freezing temperatures and hazardous icebergs to deliver everything from jet fuel to fresh escargot to a base that may be iced-in for many months out of the year.

"The re-supply is a big deal to the folks in Thule," said James Vann, MSC on-site representative. "They are very anxious to see what new things have arrived at the base exchange and are excited to see new products stock their shelves. The Air Force personnel also look forward to touring the ships. They don't get many opportunities to see U.S. Navy ships."

Green Wave loaded nearly 900 tons of cargo July 19 including forty-foot refrigerated containers with frozen foods, new vehicles, appliances, de-icing fluids and household goods in Naval Station Norfolk, Va. She made her way to Disko Island, an island in the Davis Strait on the west coast of Greenland, where she was met and escorted by Canadian icebreaker, Cutter Henry Larson into Thule. Arriving at the pier July 30 she off-loaded her cargo and loaded retrograde cargo including refuse, abandoned equipment and vehicles to be disposed of properly upon returning to Norfolk on Aug. 16.

Darnell loaded 203,000 barrels of jet fuel that is also used in the generators that supply electrical power to the base, and 2,300 barrels of a special minimum-octane, freeze-resistant gasoline used by the vehicles in Thule. The ship loaded her cargo in St. Theodore, Greece, July 18 and made her way to Thule.

"There was very light ice this year," said Vann. "The Canadian icebreaker Cutter Louie St. Laurent kept radio communications open during Darnell's arrival and departure, but just as with Green Wave's departure, no escort was required. There were a few icebergs in North Star Bay, but fewer than last year."

Darnell departed Thule Aug. 12, 2002 and is currently operating in the Mediterranean.

"It was a pleasure working with the Air Force's Space Command and the Greenland contractors," said Vann. "Everyone made this year's Pacer Goose successful."

The Navy's Military Sealift Command, is the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense. The command operates more than 120 active ships daily around the world. Ship missions vary from the transport and afloat prepositioning of defense cargo; to underway replenishment and other direct support to Navy ships at sea; to at-sea data collection for the U.S. military and other U.S. government agencies.