‍USCGC Healy: “High North” is in play

‍“The Arctic is fast becoming a theater of global competition and militarization.”

‍Bjarni Benediktsson, former PM of Iceland

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‍New US Coast Guard Ice Breaker: Two plans

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‍Even the casual student of USCG icebreaker capabilities will understand the Coast Guard needs new and more icebreakers. It now has three; two medium icebreakers used in the Arctic and a heavy but old icebreaker used in the Antarctic. Russia has the world’s largest icebreaker fleet, with around 50-57, while China has three but is growing.

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‍There are two programs underway to bridge the gap.

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‍Arctic Security Cutter Program

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‍The first is the Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) Program. On October 9, 2025 President Trump authorized construction of four Arctic Security Cutters (ASC) to be made in Finland in response to “urgent national security needs.” These are considered medium icebreakers. The US only has one operational ASC, the USCGC Healy. The USCG wants nine. Trump’s authorization seeks to use Finnish expertise to construct up to seven new ACSs in shipyards located in the US.

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‍The President announced that Bollinger Shipyards (Pascagoula, Mississippi), in partnership with Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) of Finland, Seaspan Shipyards of Canada, and Aker Arctic Technology Inc. of Finland, has been selected for the design and construction of six Arctic Security Cutters (ASC), a new class of medium icebreakers.

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‍ASCs will be capable of continuous icebreaking in heavy Arctic conditions, extended independent operations without resupply, and long-range deployment to safeguard U.S. interests in the Arctic. 

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‍They are considered to be Polar Class 4 icebreakers. There are six classes. Class 4 icebreakers are medium icebreakers built for year-round operation in thick first-year ice (up to about 120 cm or 4 feet thick). They require strong hulls, powerful propulsion, and features like reinforced bows and ballast systems for effective maneuvering and breaking through significant ice. 

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‍Rauma is under contract to lead the effort and complete construction in Finland of two ASCs, with deliver of the first ship in 2028. Bollinger is under contract to lead in collaboration with Rauma and construct four ASCs in the US. This is viewed as the first tranche, with the hope of building 11 of the Multi-Purpose Icebreakers (MPI).

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‍The design is by Seaspan of Canada in partnership with Aker Arctic Technology Inc, of Finland. It was originally designed for the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) long-range, multi-mission operations in extreme Arctic conditions.

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‍Aker Arctic has contributed to hull form development, ice model testing, and performance optimization. 

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‍Rauma has said it started preparatory work in autumn 2025 and is now moving toward full implementation. It has emphasized schedule certainty, low technical risk, and the use of a mature, production-ready design to meet the Coast Guard’s urgent operational requirements.

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‍The remaining five cutters are expected to be built under a separate arrangement involving Canada-based Davie Shipbuilding, which acquired Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard in 2023 and is looking to establish an icebreaker factory in Galveston, Texas. Davie Defense Inc. announced in September 2025 a $1 billion investment to overhaul the Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston, Texas, creating the “American Icebreaker Factory”—a purpose-built facility for constructing next-generation Arctic Security Cutters for the USCG.

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‍Polar Security Cutter Program

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‍The second program is the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program. The PSCs will be heavy-duty icebreakers, the largest and most capable the USCG has ever built. The USCG has one, the USCGC Polar Star, which is well beyond its intended 30-year life span. The plan is to get three. The Coast Guard also has Polar Sea, but it is not operational and is being used for spare parts.

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‍The Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, through an integrated program office, on April 23, 2019, awarded VT Halter Marine Inc., of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a fixed price incentive (firm) contract for the detail, design and construction of the lead PSC. Construction on the first PSC was planned to begin in 2025 at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding, which took ownership of the former VT Halter Marine Shipyard. VT Halter contracted with TAI Associates for design.

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‍The PSC will be a 23,000-ton cutter based on a heavily modified German design. The modifications were needed to meet USCF requirements. The plan is to use a special high strength steel called EQ-47, which is used to build vessels which are sailing in low temperature oceans. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has said “US shipyards seldom use it (EQ-47) in typical shipbuilding programs.”

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‍In February 2024, The Coast Guard notified Congress that the ship was experiencing delays and cost overruns, a cost growth of 20 percent. Furthermore, construction of the ship had not yet begun, meaning the program was at least one year behind.

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‍On April 18, 2025, it was reported that the Coast Guard is negotiating with a Finnish shipbuilder for building three to five

‍ASCs and possibly also three PSCs.

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‍On July 23, 2025 the USCG formalized an agreement with Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding (BMS) to construct a production integration facility and land-based test facility at the shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in support of the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) Program.  

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‍The PSC is behind schedule. Design requirements are increasing production time. As of May 2025, Bollinger, the Coast Guard and the Navy have been completing the functional design of the icebreakers and it was said to be about 90 percent complete.

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‍The first delivery is now expected in 2030 vice the planned 2024. 

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‍Return to Introduction

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