The Coast Guard’s new class of heavy ice breakers will be based in the same homeport as the remainder of the maritime service’s current icebreaking fleet, USNI News reported Monday.
“I am pleased to announce that Seattle, Wash., will be the home of the Coast Guard’s new Polar Security Cutters,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said in a statement. “The Pacific Northwest has been the home of our icebreaking fleet since 1976, and I am confident that the Seattle area will continue to provide the support we need to carry out our critical operations in the polar regions.”
The first three heavy icebreakers, called Polar Security Cutters, are expected to arrive in 2023, according to the report. The Coast Guard’s only working heavy icebreaker and its only medium icebreaking vessel are also based in Seattle.
In April, the Coast Guard awarded a $745 million contract to build the service’s first heavy icebreaking Polar Security Cutter, which will be constructed in Pascagoula, Miss.
Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross
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