Rising Star (USAF TG-71-9001) is a harbor tugboat built in 1991 for the United States Air Force and based at Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland,formerly Thule Air Base. Constructed by Swiftships in Morgan City,Louisiana,the 71-foot (22 m) steel vessel is the only tugboat in Air Force service and is operated under contract by Vectrus. During the brief summer navigation season when North Star Bay is free of ice,it guides tankers and cargo ships—including the annual Operation Pacer Goose resupply—into the shallow harbor,pulls them into Mediterranean mooring positions,and clears icebergs from the shipping lanes. For the remainder of the year it is hauled ashore to protect it from Arctic ice. In 2020,the tug was credited with rescuing six Greenlandic mariners after their vessel sank south of the base. Together with a drone-recovery craft at Tyndall Air Force Base,Rising Star comprises half of the U.S. Air Force’s naval fleet.
The 821st Support Squadron headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado maintains Rising Star.[1] In preparation for port season,as the winter ice clears,Rising Star normally launches at the beginning of July.[1] In winter,Rising Star is hauled onto shore.[3] In the summertime,the 71-foot tugboat escorts fuel tankers and cargo ships,aligns them with the pier,and moves icebergs out of the way as vessels enter North Star Bay.[3] Due to limited under-keel clearance in Pituffik's harbor (i.e.,shallow draft conditions),Rising Star must pull cargo ships such as the Maersk Peary into a Mediterranean mooring docking configuration.[1]
The ship is involved in annual resupply efforts known as Operation Pacer Goose,when the base is stocked and maintained during the brief Arctic summer before winter sets in.[6][1]Icebergs are routinely cleared from North Star Bay by Rising Star.[3] By September,Rising Star is put into maintenance,set in dry dock,repaired and idled for winter to prevent damage to the ship until the next summer.[3]
Rising Star is also used for sightseeing tours of the surrounding bays and fjords during the summer.[3]
Greenlandic ship rescue
In 2020,Rising Star took part in a rescue operation to save a sinking ship and its crew of six,50 kilometers south of base,towing the distressed ship back to the port at Pituffik.[7] On August 3,2020,a Royal Danish Air Force airplane that departed from the U.S. military base detected a distress call from a local boat crewed by Greenlanders.[8] The crew was traveling the western coast to offer carpentry services to isolated communities when their ship took on water and began to sink.[8] A crew of staff from Vectrus,a military contractor that supports the U.S. presence in Greenland,took Rising Star to assist the Greenlanders.[8] Despite rough waters,Rising Star,with the assistance of the Danish Air Force,rescued the distressed ship,bringing it back to the base.[8] The rescue operation took seven hours from Rising Star's arrival.[8] Of the rescue,it's leader on Rising Star,Casper Jensen,reported facing two-meter waves,rough seas,and said "[It was] like a washing machine".[7]Rising Star was assisted on the rescue by the Royal Danish Air Airforce,the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division,Joint Arctic Command,and the Joint Rescue Coordination Center.[7]
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