The U.S. Coast Guard introduced Wednesday its plan to homeport a commercially procured icebreaker, the Aiviq, in Juneau, Alaska. The Aiviq, initially constructed as an Arctic oil-exploration help vessel, will probably be modified to function a medium polar icebreaker for the Coast Guard, the service has now revealed.
“The USA is an Arctic nation, and the Coast Guard is important to offering presence in our sovereign waters and the polar areas,” mentioned Adm. Kevin Lunday, Coast Guard vice commandant, emphasised the significance of the acquisition. “As we proceed to construct the Polar Safety Cutters, buying a commercially accessible polar icebreaker will allow the Coast Guard to extend our nationwide presence within the Arctic, and homeporting this cutter in Alaska demonstrates the Service’s steadfast dedication to the area.”
In March, the Coast Guard in March revealed its intention to accumulate the Aiviq from a unit of Edison Chouest Offshore to deal with gaps in icebreaking functionality. The Service is now revealing it obtained $125 million in fiscal yr 2024 to buy the vessel. At present, the Aiviq is the one U.S. constructed industrial vessel assembly the mandatory icebreaking requirements, and it’s anticipated to achieve preliminary operational functionality inside two years, the Coast Guard mentioned.
Since 1965, the Coast Guard has been the only supplier of America’s polar icebreaking functionality. Nonetheless, the present fleet, together with the medium polar icebreaker Healy and the heavy polar icebreaker Polar Star, is struggling to fulfill growing demand within the area. The Healy just lately suffered an engineering compartment hearth, chopping brief its summer time Arctic patrol, whereas the 50-year-old Polar Star is present process a service life extension program in California.
The Coast Guard is looking for to extend its icebreaking fleet with new Polar Safety Cutters, a program that’s working each delayed and over finances.
The shortage of icebreaker capability is a rising concern as Russia and China bolster their presence within the Arctic and enhance use of the Northern Sea Route for delivery. The Coast Guard’s acquisition of the Aiviq goals to reinforce U.S. capabilities within the area to fulfill these geopolitical shifts.
The Aiviq, a 360-foot Arctic ice class anchor handler, was constructed by Edison Chouest Offshore and initially chartered for Shell’s failed oil exploration efforts within the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off Alaska in 2012. The vessel was just lately chartered by the Australian authorities’s Antarctic Division for resupply missions to Australian analysis stations in Antarctica.
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