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The Herald Scotland
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Trump tax bill sends new icebreaker fleet into melting Arctic
The icebreakers and ice-strengthened cutters would work in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, which are seeing increasing focus as climate change makes mining and shipping more practical by melting some of the ice. Shrinking sea ice in Alaska in particular means more commercial ships would be traveling through or fishing the area, requiring more Coast Guard patrols. "This historic investment marks a new era for the Coast Guard," Coast Guard Acting Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday said in a statement. The Coast Guard currently only has one heavy icebreaker, the USCGC Polar Star, and it's almost 20 years beyond its expected service life. The Coast Guard's other icebreaker, the 27-year-old medium-duty USCGC Healy, has suffered repeated fires. Last year the Coast Guard cancelled its planned Alaska-area patrols due to an engine-room fire, according to officials. Global tension: Greenland not for sale. It is welcoming Americans with direct flights. On Trump's birthday Russia operates multiple nuclear-powered icebreakers, which U.S. defense officials say gives it an advantage in the strategically crucial region. Coast Guard officials have been warning for years they lack the necessary ships to properly patrol icy waters, which include shipping routes between the United States and Canada in the Great Lakes, along with serving Alaska and the Antarctic research base McMurdo Station. Alaska Native people living along the shores of the Bering Sea worry increasing shipping and resource extraction pose environmental dangers, especially if the Coast Guard lacks the resources to patrol the area. Trump has vowed closer American oversight of both northern Canada and Greenland. When free of ice, the fabled Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via the Bering Sea - a 40% shorter route for ships to travel from Asia to Europe compared to using the Panama or Suez canals. Federal officials worry that China is increasingly collaborating with Russia in the area, which is rich in both oil and rare Earth minerals necessary for computer chips and other technology. Greenland in particular is seen by Trump as a contested area where climate change is melting ice sheets and opening new areas for mining. The Arctic Institute, a nonprofit think-tank based in Washington, D.C., has long lobbied for more Coast Guard icebreakers, given the potential for how climate change will alter shipping, fishing and mining in the polar regions. The institute has called the United States "woefully behind" other Arctic-adjacent countries when it comes to icebreaker construction, and said opening up the Arctic without adequate icebreakers is akin to playing baseball without bats. The Coast Guard already has one large icebreaker under construction, but that project has seen signifcant costs overruns and delays of more than a year for completion. The nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a December 2024 analysis that the Coast Guard might end up paying billions more than planned for that ship and two others that have already been authorized. They might be ready sometime in the mid-2030s, the GAO said, while the first ships authorized by the new Trump spending might not be operational until the 2040s. The White House wants to increase domestic shipbuilding capacity but in the interim, the Coast Guard last year bought a used oil exploration ship that will be extensively renovated, renamed and deployed in Juneau, Alaska.
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
'Big Beautiful Bill' supercharges Coast Guard's Arctic icebreaker fleet
Federal officials have long warned the Coast Guard needed new ships to patrol icy waters eyed by China. Climate change is opening up a new front in the ongoing cold war between the United States and China, and President Donald Trump is gearing up with new icebreakers to help patrol the Northwest Passage connecting Alaska to Greenland. Contained in the new federal spending law formerly known as the "Big Beautiful Bill" is funding for 17 icebreakers, 21 cutters, more than 40 helicopters and six large patrol airplanes, Coast Guard officials said. It could take as long as 15 years to get the first of the large ships commissioned, according to government estimates. The icebreakers and ice-strengthened cutters would work in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, which are seeing increasing focus as climate change makes mining and shipping more practical by melting some of the ice. Shrinking sea ice in Alaska in particular means more commercial ships would be traveling through or fishing the area, requiring more Coast Guard patrols. "This historic investment marks a new era for the Coast Guard," Coast Guard Acting Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday said in a statement. The Coast Guard currently only has one heavy icebreaker, the USCGC Polar Star, and it's almost 20 years beyond its expected service life. The Coast Guard's other icebreaker, the 27-year-old medium-duty USCGC Healy, has suffered repeated fires. Last year the Coast Guard cancelled its planned Alaska-area patrols due to an engine-room fire, according to officials. Global tension: Greenland not for sale. It is welcoming Americans with direct flights. On Trump's birthday Russia operates multiple nuclear-powered icebreakers, which U.S. defense officials say gives it an advantage in the strategically crucial region. Coast Guard officials have been warning for years they lack the necessary ships to properly patrol icy waters, which include shipping routes between the United States and Canada in the Great Lakes, along with serving Alaska and the Antarctic research base McMurdo Station. Alaska Native people living along the shores of the Bering Sea worry increasing shipping and resource extraction pose environmental dangers, especially if the Coast Guard lacks the resources to patrol the area. Trump has vowed closer American oversight of both northern Canada and Greenland. When free of ice, the fabled Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via the Bering Sea ‒ a 40% shorter route for ships to travel from Asia to Europe compared to using the Panama or Suez canals. Federal officials worry that China is increasingly collaborating with Russia in the area, which is rich in both oil and rare Earth minerals necessary for computer chips and other technology. Greenland in particular is seen by Trump as a contested area where climate change is melting ice sheets and opening new areas for mining. The Arctic Institute, a nonprofit think-tank based in Washington, D.C., has long lobbied for more Coast Guard icebreakers, given the potential for how climate change will alter shipping, fishing and mining in the polar regions. The institute has called the United States "woefully behind" other Arctic-adjacent countries when it comes to icebreaker construction, and said opening up the Arctic without adequate icebreakers is akin to playing baseball without bats. The Coast Guard already has one large icebreaker under construction, but that project has seen signifcant costs overruns and delays of more than a year for completion. The nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a December 2024 analysis that the Coast Guard might end up paying billions more than planned for that ship and two others that have already been authorized. They might be ready sometime in the mid-2030s, the GAO said, while the first ships authorized by the new Trump spending might not be operational until the 2040s. The White House wants to increase domestic shipbuilding capacity but in the interim, the Coast Guard last year bought a used oil exploration ship that will be extensively renovated, renamed and deployed in Juneau, Alaska.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Coast Guard to add heavy icebreaker amid shipbuilding overhaul
Full production of a new polar security cutter for the U.S. Coast Guard was recently approved by the Department of Homeland Security, as the administration seeks to boost shipbuilding and maritime security in the increasingly competitive Arctic region. The new vessel — the first heavy polar icebreaker to be built in the U.S. in about five decades — will be constructed by Bollinger Shipyards. Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, hailed the move in a release as 'a historic achievement not only for Bollinger Shipyards but also for American shipbuilding.' 'Securing the green light for full production underscores the confidence the U.S. government places in Bollinger to deliver the nation's first heavy polar icebreaker in nearly 50 years,' he said. The U.S. Coast Guard currently fields a single heavy polar icebreaker, the USCGC Polar Star, and a single medium polar icebreaker, the USCGC Healy. The Healy was put out of action by an electrical fire last July and the Polar Star is nearly five decades old. To compensate for a dearth of existing icebreakers, the service in December purchased a commercially available light polar icebreaker — which was renamed the USCGC Storis — that became the first to be added to the service's fleet in a 25-year period. The green light for the heavy polar icebreaker, meanwhile, comes as the U.S. military has observed a recent surge in foreign maritime activity in the Arctic region, including a joint Chinese-Russian air patrol near Alaska last summer. In an April 9 executive order, President Donald Trump called for a new strategy to improve maritime security in the Arctic. Resources to ramp up Coast Guard vessel production are part of the reconciliation bill currently being considered by lawmakers. The bill would provide over $9 billion for Coast Guard vessel manufacturing, which could see the construction of up to 30 new cutters of various sizes and operational capabilities, as reported by USNI News. Those new vessels could include three or more Arctic security cutters, two polar security cutters, eight heritage-class offshore patrol cutters and up to 15 fast response cutters. The legislation also includes provisions to increase Coast Guard aviation capacity, with funding for fixed and rotary wing aircraft and maintenance. Additional vessels are only one facet of sweeping changes now being introduced to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is currently being restructured according to a recently announced initiative called Force Design 2028. 'We are executing transformational change to renew the Coast Guard,' said Acting Commandant Kevin Lunday in a statement. Changes would include the addition of a Coast Guard service secretary, a move that has already been proposed in legislation.
