Crewmembers from the Coast Guard Cutter Storis (WAGB 21) conduct helicopter operations with an MH60-Jayhawk helicopter air crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, while underway in the Gulf of Alaska, Aug. 20, 2025. U.S. Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a $315 million contract to Tutor Perini Corp. to build a new fuel pier and major cutter mooring at Base Kodiak, Alaska, as the service prepares the base for a larger role in U.S. Arctic operations.
The contract, awarded Sept. 11, covers design and construction of a new fuel pier capable of receiving fuel deliveries and providing berthing for up to two major cutters. Work is expected to be completed in fall 2030.
“This contract represents a major investment in the infrastructure that supports Coast Guard crews and families in Alaska,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said. “Modernizing Base Kodiak’s waterfront delivers the capabilities we need to be ready and carry out the missions to secure our northern border and maritime approaches in the Arctic.”
The project includes waterfront grading and ground stabilization, a new fueling utility building, cutter shore connections, water and sewage infrastructure, information technology systems and safety equipment. The Coast Guard also plans unexploded ordnance removal as part of the work.
A recent Coast Guard environmental review of the project also calls for demolition of the existing fuel pier.
The investment comes as Kodiak is being positioned as one of the Coast Guard’s primary Arctic operating bases.
The Coast Guard announced in June that it will homeport its first two Arctic Security Cutters in Kodiak, with a third planned for Seward once supporting infrastructure is ready. The first Arctic Security Cutter is expected to be delivered in 2028.
That timeline means the broader infrastructure buildout at Kodiak will continue after the first new icebreaker is scheduled to arrive.
The Coast Guard is also adding housing and support facilities at the base. In May, it awarded Tutor Perini two additional task orders totaling $143.4 million for 30 family housing units and a new child development center. The Coast Guard said those projects are intended to support growing personnel requirements at Base Kodiak.
The buildup comes as the Coast Guard faces pressure to expand its presence in an increasingly active Arctic while operating with a small icebreaker fleet.
The medium icebreaker Healy remains sidelined in Seattle following a July engineering casualty that forced the Coast Guard to cancel its planned 2026 high-latitude summer mission. As gCaptain reported last week, the service is relying more heavily on the recently commissioned Storis while waiting for new purpose-built icebreakers to enter service.
Funding for the Kodiak waterfront project comes from a combination of the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Fiscal Year 2023 Major Acquisition Systems Infrastructure funding and Fiscal Year 2025 budget reconciliation funding.
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