This is an artist’s rendition of a new icebreaker that will be built. The U.S. Coast Guard currently operates one heavy icebreaker, the 399-foot Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, commissioned in 1976, and one medium-sized icebreaker, the 420-foot Coast Guard Cutter Healy, commissioned in 1999. (Image courtesy of the USCG)

MARQUETTE — The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy Integrated Program Office received approval Dec. 19 to begin building a new icebreaking ship.

The polar security cutter marks the first heavy polar icebreaker to be built in the United States in more than five decades.

The work is being performed by Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the prime contractor for design and construction of the future PSC fleet.

This decision continues work that has been underway since the summer of 2023 as part of an innovative approach to shorten the delivery timeline of these critical national assets.

The approval incorporates eight prototype fabrication assessment units currently being built or planned. The PFAU effort was structured as a progressive crawl-walk-run approach to help the shipbuilder strengthen skills across the workforce and refine construction methods before moving into a full-rate production.

The PFA has prepared the government and the shipbuilder for the PSC class, resulting in more precise, cost-effective and reliable construction processes. 

The Coast Guard’s operational polar icebreaking fleet currently includes one heavy icebreaker, the 399-foot Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, commissioned in 1976, and one medium-sized icebreaker, the 420-foot Coast Guard Cutter Healy, commissioned in 1999.

The service recently acquired a commercially available polar icebreaker to provide additional presence and mission capability in the Arctic.