The US Coast Guard is relying on ageing icebreakers such as Healy, pictured here operating in the Gulf of Alaska, until it can build a new fleet of Polar Security Cutters. (Janes/Michael Fabey)
The US Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded Bollinger Shipyards a USD951.6 million fixed-price-incentive-firm (FPIF) target contract modification to move forward on the Detail Design and Construction phase of the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) programme, the shipbuilder confirmed on 25 March.
The USCG initiated the PSC programme in its fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget to acquire new heavy polar icebreakers, with a target of acquiring four or five new PSCs, to be followed at some later point by the acquisition of new Arctic Security Cutters (ASCs), or medium polar icebreakers, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) noted in its October 2024 report Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress.
The PSC programme has received a total of about USD1.7 billion in procurement funding through FY 2024, the CRS pointed out, adding there could be some questions about the “accuracy of the PSC's estimated procurement cost, given the PSC's size and internal complexity” as well as cost growth in other US Navy (USN) and USCG shipbuilding programmes.
CRS also noted concerns about the delivery date for the first PSC, “The Coast Guard originally aimed to have the first PSC delivered in 2024, but the ship's estimated delivery date has been delayed repeatedly and may now occur no earlier than 2029.”
In its 19 December 2024 report Coast Guard Acquisitions: Further Cost and Affordability Analysis of Polar Fleet Needed
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