"Staten Island" was dispatched to the Arctic Ocean on 7 July 1969 as an oceanographic research platform and escort vessel for supply operations. There she helped reach open water off Point Barrow on 7 September 1969, relieved "Northwind" on 22 September 1969 after that vessel suffered engine trouble, and assisted the Canadian icebreaker in escorting the tanker eastward through the Northwest Passage. "Staten Island" arrived in New York on 9 November 1969, and departed for Seattle on 9 December 1969 by way of the Panama Canal with stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Acapulco, Mexico. Upon her arrival back in Seattle, "Staten Island" became the fourth United States ship to circumnavigate the North American continent, traveling over in the process.