The U.S. Coast Guard plans to invest an additional $323 million in infrastructure upgrades at Coast Guard Base Seattle to support homeporting the service’s future heavy icebreakers, according to testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
During the hearing, Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday confirmed the funding while responding to questions from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the committee’s ranking member.
“The critical part of the work there is to rebuild and build out the capability for our Polar Security Cutters that will be homeported there, as well as [the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter] Healy, which continues to be homeported there,” Lunday said. He added that prior annual appropriations funded some early work, while more recent federal budget legislation is providing additional resources “to advance and complete that work.”
The planned improvements at Base Seattle include modernization, dredging, and construction of new major cutter berths to support the Coast Guard’s forthcoming Polar Security Cutter program fleet. The first vessel in the class, now under construction in Mississippi, remains “on track for completion and delivery to the Coast Guard in 2030,” Lunday said. He told lawmakers he would follow up with a more specific timeline for the ship’s arrival in Puget Sound once available.
Base Seattle is already home to the medium icebreaker USCGC Healy, and the site has long been identified as the future homeport for the first three heavy polar icebreakers. Expanding pier space and shoreside support is considered essential to accommodate the larger, more complex vessels and their crews.
The discussion also covered Coast Guard infrastructure needs along the Washington and Oregon coasts. Lunday told Cantwell he plans to visit Station Cape Disappointment and the nearby National Motor Lifeboat School during a trip to the Pacific Northwest in mid-February, if federal funding conditions allow.
“We will,” Lunday said when asked about the visit. “Not only the improvements at Cape Disappointment, but also the long-term dredging challenge there at Cape Disappointment.”
Station Cape Disappointment supports the Coast Guard’s heavy-weather search-and-rescue missions at the Columbia River Bar, one of the most challenging bar crossings in the country. The station is also responsible for training surfmen at the National Motor Lifeboat School. Lawmakers and Coast Guard leaders have been discussing long-term solutions to persistent shoaling and infrastructure constraints at the site, including potential structural measures in addition to routine dredging.
In a press release, Sen. Cantwell also referenced ongoing efforts to support a new generation of heavy-weather lifeboats that will replace the aging 52’ motor lifeboat fleet. Those vessels are being built in Washington state and are expected to be homeported at Cape Disappointment.
