The Coast Guard last week awarded a $125 million contract to Offshore Service Vessels, LLC, to acquire a commercially available polar icebreaker (CAPI) that will help bridge a gap in the service’s icebreaking needs until it acquires the full complement of polar security cutters (PSCs) in the 2030s.
The contract runs through July 31, 2025, and covers the acquisition, reactivation, and operational readiness of the 360-foot M/V Aiviq. The Coast Guard has requested $25 million in fiscal year 2025 to crew and provision the polar class 3-equivalent icebreaker and expects to be operating the ship in the Arctic in 2026 (Defense Daily, Nov. 14).
A polar class 3 icebreaker can operate year-round in second year ice, which is ice that has survived one melting season, and is typically between 6.6-feet and 13.1-feet thick, according to the Univ. of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The Nov. 20 contract announcement says the primary objectives for the scope of work under the award cover full vessel reactivation, which includes sea trials and crew training, vessel markings and coatings, achieving American Bureau of Shipbuilding certification, and operational testing.
As of early November, the M/V Aiviq was already about 25 percent painted Coast Guard polar icebreaker red and was underway with ABS and Offshore Service Vessels for an evaluation, Vice Adm. Thomas Allan, the service’s deputy commandant for mission support, told Congress.
The Coast Guard plans to acquire a fleet of eight to nine polar icebreakers to meet operational needs in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The service currently plans to acquire at least three PSCs, the first two of which are under contract with Bollinger Shipyards. The shipbuilder is expected to begin construction of the first heavy icebreaker this year and deliver the vessel in 2030.
The CAPI will not be included in the PSC program of record.
The Coast Guard is also evaluating a new medium polar icebreaker, the Arctic Security Cutter.
Currently, the Coast Guard operates the 399-foot Polar Star, a heavy icebreaker, and the 420-foot Healy, a medium polar icebreaker. The Polar Star is nearly 50 years old and is undergoing a series of service life upgrades to keep it operational until at least the first PSC is delivered. The Healy is 25 years old. Both vessels have suffered technical casualties that have hindered operations.