Reaching out to industry, the Coast Guard has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for commercial heavy polar icebreaker designs and the capability of industry in the United States to build such a ship.
The Coast Guard currently has two sea going icebreakers, the medium breaker Healy and the heavy breaker Polar Star, which recently reentered service. There is increasing interest in the United States, particularly in Congress, for the Coast Guard to have additional heavy icebreaking capabilities for the polar region.
In a Sept. 30 notice in the FedBizOpps.gov, the Coast Guard says the RFI is a “precursor” to a potential procurement of a non-nuclear polar icebreaker. The Coast Guard is interested in commercial and scientific research icebreakers that can be, or be configured to meet, its operational mission requirements. Responses may be used to help the service develop an acquisition strategy, it says.
The minimum mission set is to be able to perform operations that the 399-foot Polar Star can do, the Coast Guard says.
The Coast Guard is currently working with other federal agents to develop initial requirements for a new icebreaker. The service estimates that a new heavy icebreaker would cost between $800 million and $1 billion, which it worries would significantly impair its ability to acquire other capital assets.
The Coast Guard has requested $6 million for polar icebreaker design and study work in FY ’15. Senate appropriators have recommended fully funding the request while House Appropriators eliminated funding.
As ice in the Arctic region melts and northern waters become increasingly accessible, various nations are interested in seeking out commercial opportunities there, protecting the flow of commerce, and conducting scientific research.