Chinese Icebreaker ‘Xue Long 2’ Operating North of Alaska, Two More En Route to Arctic

China’s first home-built polar icebreaker Xue Long 2 has arrived in the Arctic for its summer 2025 research mission. The vessel departed from Shanghai around two weeks ago on July 5. After passing through the Bering Strait in proximity to Alaska and entering the Chukchi Sea, the icebreaker has now turned east, traveling into the Beaufort Sea to the north of Alaska.

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