Coast Guard Inks Deal to Acquire ‘Aiviq’ As Vessel Arrives in Tampa Dry Dock to Begin Conversion

By Malte Humpert (gCaptain) –

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed on a $125m fixed-price deal to acquire and convert icebreaking supply ship Aiviq from Offshore Surface Vessels LLC, part of Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO).

The vessel is intended as a stopgap measure for the Coast Guard’s Arctic capabilities while the service awaits the completion of the first Polar Security Cutter icebreaker not before the end of the decade.

The Coast Guard will now evaluate the vessel’s current condition and determine requirements to reach full operational capability. The contract with Offshore Surface Vessels encompasses the Aiviq’s reactivation including sea trials and crew training, repainting and application of markings, as well as certification under ABS standards and operational testing.

According to Coast Guard officials repainting of the 360-foot U.S.-built icebreaker from its original marine blue to icebreaker red recently began, with around one quarter completed.

A photo obtained by gCaptain shows Aiviq partially covered in tarps at dry dock #4 of Tampa Ship LLC with small sections of its hull in red visible. Like ??Offshore Surface Vessels LLC, Tampa Ship is part of Chouest. The yard specializes in conversions and overhaul of vessels.

“Just in the last three days we have signed the contract to acquire the commercially available icebreaker. It is currently commissioned as the Aiviq. We have inked that deal,” Commandant of the Coast Guard, Linda Fagan, confirmed during the Halifax International Security Forum earlier this week.

The service hopes that the vessel will be able to conduct select Coast Guard missions and project U.S. presence in the Arctic with only minimal modifications.

Days after securing the vessel it traveled to the Tampa Bay dry dock to begin an 18-month long conversion. Aiviq arrived from Pascagoula, Mississippi after a week-long test and ferry voyage.

“They got it in the water today with ABS [American Bureau of Shipping] and they are taking a look at those systems and we are going on board to finalize negotiations and look how we can crew that in the short term with those commercial operators,” VADM Thomas Allan, informed last week. 

The Coast Guard first floated the idea of acquiring a commercially available icebreaker in 2023. Congress appropriated $125m for its acquisition and conversion earlier this year. 

The vessel will be homeported in Juneau, Alaska following construction of a suitable pier and onshore facilities. 

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