ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Coast Guard is ready for expanded activity in Arctic waters, including petroleum exploration, Commandant Robert Papp told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Monday, even though the nearest agency base is more than 750 miles southeast of the Bering Strait, on Kodiak Island.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., conducted the hearing with the intent of discussing Coast Guard needs as melting summer sea ice opens more of the Arctic to cargo vessels, ecotourism and maybe commercial fishing.

Landrieu said climate models indicate the Arctic Ocean could be free of summer ice after 2030.

“This is an extraordinary change on our planet and we must be ready for it,” she said.