WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A 225-foot ship with limited icebreaking capabilities departed from its home port in the US state of Alaska on a scientific voyage through the Northwest Passage on Wednesday, the US Coast Guard announced in a press release.
"The crew of the cutter Maple… will deploy three sonographic buoys that are used to record acoustic sounds of marine mammals," the release stated on Wednesday.
A scientist from the University of San Diego embarked aboard the cutter will analyze the data retrieved from the buoys, the release explained.
The US ship has a reinforced hull that provides it with limited ice breaking capabilities similar to Coast Guard 225-foot cutters operating on the Great Lakes, the release noted.
The Maple plans to rendezvous later this month with the Canadian Coast Guard ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier for help breaking through ice in the treacherous Victoria Strait, according to the release.
The ship is scheduled to conclude its voyage in late August.
