US CRS report underscores Polar Security Cutter schedule uncertainty as USCG cites need for more icebreakers

The US Coast Guard says it will need more icebreakers for polar operations. (VT Halter Marine/Technology Associates)

As the US Coast Guard (USCG) is planning for a bigger fleet of new icebreakers, the service is facing continued uncertainty about the delivery schedule for its proposed new Polar Security Cutters (PSCs), the Congressional Research Service (CRS) noted in a recent report.

“The coastguard testified in April and June 2023 that it had recently signed out a new fleet mix analysis that concluded that the coastguard will require a total of eight to nine polar icebreakers to perform its various polar (i.e., Arctic and Antarctic) missions in coming years,” the CRS said in its report, Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues for Congress, released on 10 July.

“Prior to this new fleet mix analysis, coastguard officials had stated that the service in coming years would need at least six polar icebreakers, including three capable of breaking heavy polar ice,” the CRS reported.