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Background: The SS Manhattan, world's largest icebreaker and the first commercial ship to sail the Northwest Passage arrived in New York Harbor Wednesday amid the flourish of fireboats, Coast Guard cutters, private ships and aircraft.

The return of the Manhattan heralded the completion of the Humble Oil & Refining Company voyage that covered some 10,000 miles of ice-packed testing. On board was a barrel of oil which was symbolic of the vast supply of newly-discovered oil from Alaska's North Slope which the company hopes to transport to the East Coast of the United States.

Earlier the Manhattan had stopped in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to salute the Canadian icebreakers that travelled with the 1,005-foot long vessel throughout her voyage.

It's now up to Humble officials to study the tremendous collection of technical data and determine the economic feasibility of the passage--a dream which began when John Gabot first attempted the voyage in 1497.