WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nominee for command of the Coast
Guard’s 17th District met with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska,
today, telling her he fully recognizes the critical importance of Coast Guard
missions in Alaska.
Rear Admiral Thomas P. Ostebo served at Coast Guard Air
Station Sitka during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He told the Senator the
assignment gave him a first-hand understanding of Alaska’s weather and resource
challenges.
Murkowski shared her concerns about the decommissioning of
Coast Guard Cutter ACUSHNET – one-third of Alaska’s major cutter fleet – and the
proposed decommissioning of one of the nation’s two heavy ice breakers.
“We have 3.8 million square nautical miles to cover in
Alaska, and Washington, DC is asking a shrinking cutter fleet to do the job.
Beyond that, the threat of leaving only one ice breaker in Alaska waters
would kneecap the Coast Guard’s ability to fully respond to an Arctic marine or
environmental disaster,” Murkowski said. “Thanks to Alaska, the U.S. is
an Arctic nation. It’s time for Congress and the White House to realize our natural
resources, national security and population are being neglected up north by
their inactivity.”
Ostebo also expressed his support for the U.S. ratification
of the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas. Murkowski agreed UNCLOS is
vital to protecting U.S. interests in the Arctic and stated that she would
continue to work with her fellow members of Congress and the Administration to
push for the treaties ratification.
“While I am truly saddened to see Rear Admiral Christopher
Colvin leave Alaska, I am excited to have met his replacement to welcome him
back to Alaska and I look forward to working closely with him on the Coast
Guard issues that impact Alaska and the Arctic.”
Murkowski is a member of the Senate Appropriations Homeland
Security Subcommittee, which oversees the Coast Guard budget.
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