The ship departed New Orleans, on 26 January 2000, performing sea trials off of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in Baffin Bay, between Canada and Greenland.

[4] Due to the vast array of missions conducted by Healy, it is vital that crew members are fully qualified on a number of duties.

[9] Designed to conduct a wide range of research activities, Healy provides more than 4,200 square feet (390 m2) of scientific laboratory space, numerous electronic sensor systems, oceanographic winches, and accommodations for up to 50 scientists.

As a Coast Guard cutter, Healy is also a platform for supporting other potential missions in the polar regions, including: search and rescue, ship escort, environmental protection, and law enforcement.

[10] 6 September 2001: Healy, on her three-phase maiden voyage, became only the second U.S. surface ship to reach the North Pole as a part of the Arctic East Science Mission, accompanied by the German research icebreaker Polarstern.

Healy returned to her homeport, Seattle, on 20 December 2001 after 192 days at sea, which were punctuated by two port calls in Tromso Norway to exchange science teams.

7 May 2003: Healy received the Coast Guard Unit Commendation award for exceptionally meritorious service from January 2003 to April 2003, while conducting Operation Deep Freeze in support of the U.S. Antarctic Program.

This was Healy's second visit to the North Pole, and the voyage was a part of the Arctic East-West Summer 2005 project which consisted of three cruises between 1 June and 28 November 2005.

In collaboration with CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, Healy pushed 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi) further north than planned and avoided $2.4 million in future expedition mapping costs.

Healy also acquired over 1,000 lb (450 kg) of valuable geological samples by conducting dredging operations at depths of up to three mi (4.8 km).

3 January 2012: Healy escorted the Russian-flagged freighter Renda through pack ice to deliver an emergency supply of fuel to Nome, Alaska.

[19] Healy traveled over 16,000 nmi (30,000 km; 18,000 mi), took over 25,000 water and ice samples from 72 science stations, and became the first unaccompanied U.S. surface vessel to reach the North Pole.

Finally, Healy became the first vessel to broadcast a live feed from ice-bound Arctic waters, streaming video of a search and rescue exercise to shore-based coordinators.

The study included a number of biological focuses which recorded seabird and micro zooplankton populations, as well as assessing phytoplankton, sea ice algae, nitrogen, and sediment.

Additionally Oceanographer Evelyn Lessard co-led a team to study krill populations to assess how climate change will affect the fisheries.

The first mission utilized Healy's unique over-the-side science capabilities in order to collect organisms and create an ecological picture of the Hanna Shoal region.

The fourth and final mission deployed subsurface moorings and conducted numerous CTD tests to study the Alaskan Boundary Current.

Successful tests were completed throughout the expedition during the transit to the North Pole.2016: On 15 October 2016, Healy returned to her home port in Seattle, after a 127-day summer deployment in the Arctic Ocean.

[31] 2023: In August 2023, Healy was undertaking scientific research for the Nansen and Amundsen Basin Observational System (NABOS), including CTD profiles, in the East Siberian Sea.

The ship sailed towards the Siberian shelf with an objective of better understanding the physics of the Nansen and Amundsen basins and in doing so, encroached on Russia's Northern Sea Route.

The Coast Guard conducted simultaneous safety and administrative investigations the results of which were made public in January 2007[33][34] along with a Final Decision Letter dated 23 August 2007.

At the time of the incident, the icebreaker was underway about 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) from Seward, Alaska and headed for Arctic Ocean science operations.

[43][44][45] At the end of July 2024, Healy suffered another electrical fire that forced the icebreaker to cancel two scientific missions to the Arctic and patrol through the Northwest Passage.

[48] US Coast Guard E Ribbon for the period of 4 February 2012 to 19 November 2014, at Afloat Training Organization (ATO) Everett, Washington.