The Russian Oil Tanker Renda and her escort, the cutter Healy are now sailing iin open water after a week of breaking through ice to regain open sea.

Both ships are sailing on a southerly heading as the Renda continues towards Vladavostok, her home port. The Healy will continue on to her port in Seattle after making one stop in Dutch Harbor to deliver supplies.

The Healy was at the end of her extensive scientific expedition in the Arctic when she was called on to assist the Renda as that vessel readied to delivery 1.3 million gallons of fuel to the ice bound community of Nome. That northwestern coastal city was perilously close to running out of heating fuel and gas after it missed its fall shipment of winter fuel.

After a much publicized journey through thick ice in the Bering Sea both the Renda and the Healy successfully gained Nome and delivered the much needed fuel.