The Coast Guard is seeking information from U.S. and international shipyards into the feasibility of building a new class of medium icebreaking cutters for Arctic duty – and delivering them within three years of starting construction.
The April 11 request for information is titled “Arctic Security Cutter (ASC): Icebreaking Capable Vessels or Vessel Designs that are Ready for Construction.” It’s the latest in a push by the Trump and Biden administrations to speed up U.S. capabilities in the high north, to meet Russian and Chinese efforts to advance their interests in the Arctic.
The request asks for “general design characteristics and capabilities of an existing vessel or a production ready or mature vessel design” that be up to 360’x78’ and draw 23’ or less, with a 3,500 nautical mile range and 60 days endurance.
The “vessel shall be capable of independently breaking through ice with a thickness of 3’ at a continuous speed of 3 knots,” the document specifies. The kicker on the wish list is a tight time frame: “a holistic execution strategy that would enable the start of construction within 12 months and the launching of the vessel within 36 months of a contract award date.”
The RFI document says up to three medium icebreakers could be in a future contract. The Coast Guard’s sole medium icebreaker, the 420’ Healy, was commissioned in 1999. To boost its Arctic capability in the meantime, the Coast Guard in December took ownership of the Aiviq, a 360’8”x80’x34’ commercial polar class 3-equivalent icebreaker acquired from a subsidiary of Edison Chouest Offshore.
On March 25, Bollinger Shipyards announced a $951.6 million contract to proceed with building the United States’ first new heavy polar icebreaker in nearly 50 years. The 460'x88' Polar Sentinel is planned be completed by 2030. The sole heavy icebreaker still operational, the 399’ Polar Star, was commissioned in 1976.
