
The Coast Guard last Friday announced its preferred alternative to modernize and expand its port facilities in Seattle to eventually accommodate up to eight polar icebreakers. The service after mid-December will make a final decision among four potential alternatives for Base Seattle, the Coast Guard’s largest installation in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle is host to the Coast Guard’s current fleet of polar icebreakers, the heavy cutter Polar Star, and the medium cutter Healy. The Coast Guard’s preferred alternative calls for…