U.S. Polar Icebreaker Faces New Delays and Cost Overruns Report Says The U.S. Polar Security Cutter program continues to face headwinds. Five years after signing a construction contract the vessel continues to exist only on the drawing board with the design still waiting to be finalized. Delivery will now occur no earlier than 2029.
U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker Faces Delays With No Funding Request for 2025, Aims to Acquire Commercial Icebreaker The U.S. Coast Guard did not request additional funding for the Polar Security Cutter icebreaker program in 2025, while it revises the program schedule hinting at further delays. To secure additional icebreaker capacity in the short-term it earmarked $125 million to acquire a commercial icebreaker, likelyM/V Aiviq.
No Delivery Date As Timeline For New US Coast Guard Icebreaker Continues to Slip The US Coast Guard does not currently have a date for completion of the new heavy icebreaker. Compounding delays could push delivery toward the end of this decade, or possibly beyond.
New US Icebreaker Delayed Until 2027, Russia Orders 6th and 7th Nuclear Icebreaker The United States’ new polar-class icebreaker faces further delays pushing delivery from the original timeline for 2024 into 2027. The Coast Guard is now looking to purchase an existing commercial icebreaker for $150m to bridge the gap. Meanwhile, Russia’s Rosatom signed construction contracts for two more nuclear icebreakers.
Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy Reaches North Pole As Part of Greater US Arctic Engagement The Arctic continues to gain greater attention in US policy circles and it sent the icebreakerHealyto patrol its maritime border with Russia and venture to the North Pole this summer. However, hard assets, such as icebreakers, remain in short supply for now.
U.S. Cancels All Arctic Operations After Icebreaker Healy Suffers Engine Fire The U.S. Coast Guard has canceled its Arctic patrol mission after the icebreakerHealyexperienced an engine room fire. This leaves the U.S. without surface vessel presence in the region during the summer of 2020, highlighting the country’s limited icebreaking capabilities.
U.S. Renews Warning Against China in Arctic, Releases New Details on Icebreaker Just days after Secretary of State Pompeo warned about Russia’s and China’s activity in the Arctic during the Arctic Council meeting, U.S. military officials renewed comments about security threats in the region. The U.S. Coast Guard aims to respond to those challenges with a fleet of new icebreakers.
Dark Skies for America’s Future Icebreaker Fleet A new report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) casts a dark cloud over the icy shimmer of hope that the Coast Guard will be able to deliver on its 2023 icebreaker promise.
