
The Coast Guard and Navy on Tuesday awarded VT Halter Marine a potential $1.9 billion contract to begin detailed design and eventually construction on up to three Polar Security Cutters (PSCs) for the Coast Guard, the first new heavy polar icebreakers for the service in more than 40 years at a time when competition from Russia and even China is heating up in the Arctic region. The initial contract is a fixed-price award of $745.9 million for the first PSC,…