Coast Guard Faces Challenges in Expanding Icebreaker Fleet

By PaulShlykov @Adobe Stock

The U.S. Coast Guard, a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has highlighted the need for more polar icebreakers to support its missions in the Arctic and Antarctic. To address this, the Coast Guard plans to expand its aging fleet, aiming to acquire up to nine new icebreakers. This includes the purchase of a medium icebreaker by 2026 and heavy polar icebreakers through the Polar Security Cutter program. However, the Coast Guard currently lacks detailed cost estimates and a comprehensive fleet analysis. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called for improved investment decision-making to manage these expansion efforts better. They write:

The U.S. Coast Guard, a component within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stated that it needs more polar icebreakers to meet its missions in the Arctic and Antarctic. This is, in part, because it currently has insufficient capacity to assure U.S. presence and reliable access to the Arctic.

Given the Arctic’s increased importance, the Coast Guard is working to maintain and expand its polar icebreaking fleet to meet its mission needs. It already studied and analyzed its needs for more than a decade. However, the Coast Guard faces challenges and open questions on its plans. […]

Further, the Coast Guard continues to lack a polar icebreaker fleet analysis that examines the cost and sequencing of programs including how these efforts are affordable within its larger acquisition portfolio. Such an analysis would allow the Coast Guard to make informed decisions about initiating or expanding programs in the context of its larger acquisition portfolio. GAO previously identified that the Coast Guard needs to improve how it makes investment decisions. […]

GAO is making two recommendations to the Coast Guard that: (1) it develops a detailed cost estimate for the commercially available medium polar icebreaker that incorporates modifications it wants to make, and (2) it completes an analysis of the cost and sequencing for the polar icebreaker fleet expansion, including how these efforts are affordable within its larger acquisition portfolio. DHS did not concur with our first recommendation and concurred with the second. GAO maintains that both recommendations are valid.

Read more here.

Also read, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral: Potential Russian ‘Checkmate’ in the Arctic, The Arctic Buildup: A New Cold War, The U.S. Navy Desperately Needs Icebreakers, Russia’s ‘Combat Icebreaker’ Sets Sail, and Dangerous Forecast for Shipping Routes.