Overview
- The newly commissioned Soya arrived at Kushiro Port on December 28 for its first port call.
- The patrol vessel will conduct drift-ice observation in the Sea of Okhotsk and rescue ships trapped in ice.
- Captain Taisuke Omuro emphasized that it is the Coast Guard’s only large icebreaking patrol ship and voiced a commitment to safeguarding northern waters.
- The ship features icebreaking capability, water-spray systems for cold-region operations, and high-performance long-range cameras.
- It replaces the 1978-commissioned Soya, which logged about 1.91 million kilometers, responded to over 600 incidents, and rescued more than 1,450 people before retiring in November.