Portraits of an icebreaker crew, researchers

July 27, 2017 at 12:36 a.m. | Updated July 28, 2017 at 5:23 p.m.

by Frank Jordans, Associated Press

First officer Jukka Alhoke sits at the controls of the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica on Thursday, July 6, 2017, as it sets sail off the coast of Canada toward the Bering Strait. The MSV Nordica is setting course to traverse the Northwest Passage, a route once considered impassible, from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic via the Arctic. The icebreaker, which is returning to its home port of Helsinki, is carrying researchers studying the impact of the Arctic's melting sea ice on the fragile social and ecological balance in the region, and observers from the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards.
First officer Jukka Alhoke sits at the controls of the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica on Thursday, July 6, 2017, as it sets sail off the coast of Canada toward the Bering Strait. The MSV Nordica is setting course to traverse the Northwest Passage, a route once considered impassible, from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic via the Arctic. The icebreaker, which is returning to its home port of Helsinki, is carrying researchers studying the impact of the Arctic's melting sea ice on the fragile social and ecological balance in the region, and observers from the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards.

THE ARCTIC CIRCLE - The ship hadn't yet left Vancouver for the Arctic Circle's Northwest Passage when the icebreaking began - with a round of "introduce yourself to the others."

We'd already met a few crew members of the MSV Nordica icebreaker the day before, including Capt. Jyri Viljanen, a master mariner from Finland who has been going to sea for 39 years.

This month's expedition through the Northwest Passage, with an Associated Press team and international researchers aboard, is Viljanen's first transit through the passage.

Helping guide the ship safely through the treacherous waters is ice navigator Capt. David "Duke" Snider, a Canadian Coast Guard veteran with 35 years at sea and current president of The Nautical Institute for maritime professionals.

Others aboard include Cmdr. Bill Woityra, the ice operations division chief for the U.S. Coast Guard; marine consultant Nigel Greenwood, a retired Canadian admiral in charge of maritime forces in the Pacific; and Capt. Victor Gronmyr, a serving officer in the Canadian Coast Guard.

Two members of Canada's indigenous Inuit community, Maatiusi Manning and David Kullualik, are on board to gain "ship time" as part of their merchant marine training. Manning and Kullualik hope eventually to work on an Inuit-owned fishing ship off Canada's northeast coast.

Six scientists are accompanying the mission. Some, such as Daria Gritsenko of the University of Helsinki, are there to document the state of the ice and marine infrastructure along the Northwest Passage. Others, such as Scott Joblin of the Australian National University, will examine the legal and political issues arising from Arctic exploration and development.

The Nordica also has an experienced field biologist, Paula van Weller, on board. Van Weller is documenting wildlife encounters, including any sightings of polar bears, whales or seals.

NEXT: 360 camera, drones: AP team gears up for a melting Arctic

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