Following a decision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in late December allowing the Coast Guard to move forward with limited production of a new heavy polar icebreaker, the department this week greenlit the start of full production for the first Polar Security Cutter (PSC), the service said on Thursday.
The December decision authorized the Coast Guard to build 16 of the 85 modules that make up the PSC. Bollinger Shipyards, which is under contract for up to three PSCs, in 2023 began work on eight prototype modules to help it come down the learning curve in terms of strengthening workforce skills and refining construction methods (Defense Daily, Aug. 4, 2023).
The April 30 approval by DHS allows the Coast Guard, and Bollinger, to construct all 85 modules.
The PSC represent a major relearning of skills and expertise in the design and construction of polar icebreakers. The Coast Guard’s lone heavy polar icebreaker, the Polar Star, is nearly 50 years old, and the service’s only medium polar icebreaker, the Healy, is 25 years old. Both vessels have been plagued with mechanical and maintenance issues.
“Approval for full production enables the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy integrated program office to maintain production momentum, and for the shipbuilder to accelerate hiring to deliver this critical asset as quickly as possible to support national security initiatives,” the Coast Guard said on Thursday.
The first PSC is slated for delivery in 2030, six years behind schedule. The following two vessels are expected in 2032 and 2034.
The Coast Guard wants a mix of eight to nine heavy and medium polar icebreakers. The service recently began surveying the domestic and global maritime industrial base for a medium icebreaker, the Arctic Security Cutter, with a goal of getting the first vessel delivered withing three years of contract award.
The Coast Guard in late March awarded Bollinger nearly $952 million to complete design and construction of the first PSC (Defense Daily, March 26). The award more than doubled the cost to build the ship. VT Halter Marine, which won the PSC contract before Bollinger acquired the company, in April 2019 received a $746 million contract for the ship.
The House panel that oversees Coast Guard authorities is strongly backing the PSC and ASC programs, recommending more than $9 billion in a reconciliation program for the icebreakers (Defense Daily, April 30). That funding also covers “domestic” icebreakers, which are used on the Great Lakes and other waterways.
The Coast Guard on Thursday released a request for information seeking feedback from U.S. and allied nation shipyards on “existing or production-ready icebreaking capable vessels” for either a medium (DOMICE-M) and light (DOMICE-L) missions. A DOMICE-M vessel would be 140-feet or less in length and the DOMICE-L 65-feet or less.