Polar-class icebreakers , are heavy
icebreakers operated by the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
(USCG). These cutters, specifically designed for icebreaking, have reinforced hulls, special icebreaking bows, and a system that allows rapid shifting of ballast to increase the effectiveness of their icebreaking. The vessels conduct
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
and
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
research and are the primary icebreakers that clear the channel into
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Unit ...
for supply ships. All are homeported in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington.
In addition to the two Polar-class icebreakers, the USCG has a third polar-capable icebreaker, .
Both ''Polar Star'' and ''Polar Sea'' are near the end of their effective lifetimes, and have spent years moored because they were in need of expensive and unbudgeted upgrades.
[
][
]
In November 2013 four
senators proposed an amendment to the
2014 Defense Appropriations Act
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
* ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013
*''14'', an unrele ...
authorizing the construction of four new Polar-class vessels, at a cost of $850 million each.
[
]
The four senators sponsoring the amendment were
Maria Cantwell
Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Washington ...
and
Patty Murray, from Washington, and
Mark Begich
Mark Peter Begich ( ; born March 30, 1962) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Mayor of Anchorage from 2003 to 2009.
Born in An ...
and
Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...
, from
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. According to the ''
Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...
'' the chances that the amendment will survive into the bill, as passed, are slim.
On February 22, 2017, the U.S Coast Guard announced it had awarded five fixed-price contracts worth $20 million for the future heavy polar icebreaker design studies and analysis.
The icebreakers are being replaced by 3 heavy and 3 medium icebreakers as part of the
Polar icebreaker program. On May 18, 2017, Adm. Paul Zukunft said that due to changes in the Arctic, the Coast Guard may have to increase the number of the future icebreakers, and the future icebreakers may have a requirement for space, weight, and power reserved for offensive and defensive weaponry which may include an anti-ship missile package.
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
USCG Cutter Datasheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polar-class icebreaker
Auxiliary icebreaker classes
Ships built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company