The US Congress passed a spending package last week under which the US Coast Guard will receive a US$675 million funding for new icebreakers, under its Polar Security Cutter program.
The USCG is namely receiving $655 million to start construction on the lead ship for the new class of Polar Security Cutters and is receiving an addition $20 million to purchase long-lead-time materials for a second heavy icebreaker, as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bill.
Last summer, the Senate had agreed a $755 million funding for the Polar Security Cutter. The House of Representatives, though, instead provided DHS with $5 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico while canceling funding for a variety of programs including the Polar Security Cutter, USNI news reported.
Now US is planning to build a new fleet of six polar icebreakers – at least three of which must be heavy icebreakers.
Our role in the Arctic is growing. Diminishing Arctic sea ice is expanding access to the region and attracting attention from both partner and rival states across the globe. Resource extraction, fisheries, tourism and commercial shipping, in conjunction with traditional Alaska native activities, are driving increased maritime activity and a greater need for Coast Guard presence in the region. America’s only heavy icebreaker, the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, is more than 40 years old and must be replaced by the new Polar Security Cutter,
…read a statement from the service provided to USNI News.
USCG has for several years pushed for funding the icebreaker program.
Currently, the Coast Guard has only one operational heavy icebreaker, the ‘Polar Star’, commissioned in 1976. A second icebreaker, the ‘Polar Sea’ has not been operational since a 2010 engine failure and instead has for nearly a decade served as a parts donor to keep Polar Star running.
Meanwhile, China’s and Russia’s increased interest in the Arctic region makes the Coast Guard’s Arctic Strategy ‘more critical than ever’, Homeland Security member Rep David Price told USNI News.
For years, having only one working heavy icebreaker hindered the Coast Guard’s ability to satisfy mission requests from government agencies effectively. The Coast Guard was only able to fulfill 78% of heavy icebreaking missions between 2010 and 2016, according to a September 2017 Government Accountability Office report.
