US commander: Alaska fuel delivery a hopeful sign
Jan 18, 2012, 4:33 PM
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) – The commander of the U.S. Northern Command says the international effort to deliver fuel to an iced-in Alaskan city is a promising sign for cooperation in the Arctic.
Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr. wrote in his blog this week that the transport of fuel to Nome, Alaska, by a Russian tanker ship is “a historic moment.”
Northern Command is based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Arctic.
The Russian tanker is offloading 1.3 million gallons of fuel to tanks.
Nome didn’t get its last pre-winter fuel delivery because of a massive November storm. Without the Russian tanker, the city of 3,500 would run out of fuel by March or April, before the next barge delivery is possible.
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