Coast Guard Reveals More on Plan to Acquire Commercial Icebreaker 'Aiviq'

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday its plan to homeport a commercially procured icebreaker, the Aiviq, in Juneau, Alaska. The Aiviq, originally built as an Arctic oil-exploration support vessel, will be modified to serve as a medium polar icebreaker for the Coast Guard, the service has now revealed.

“The United States is an Arctic nation, and the Coast Guard is vital to providing presence in our sovereign waters and the polar regions,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, Coast Guard vice commandant, emphasized the importance of the acquisition. “As we continue to build the Polar Security Cutters, acquiring a commercially available polar icebreaker will enable the Coast Guard to increase our national presence in the Arctic, and homeporting this cutter in Alaska demonstrates the Service’s steadfast commitment to the region.”

In March, the Coast Guard in March revealed its intention to acquire the Aiviq from a unit of Edison Chouest Offshore to address gaps in icebreaking capability. The Service is now revealing it received $125 million in fiscal year 2024 to purchase the vessel. Currently, the Aiviq is the only U.S. built commercial vessel meeting the necessary icebreaking standards, and it is expected to reach initial operational capability within two years, the Coast Guard said.

Since 1965, the Coast Guard has been the sole provider of America’s polar icebreaking capability. However, the current fleet, including the medium polar icebreaker Healy and the heavy polar icebreaker Polar Star, is struggling to meet increasing demand in the region. The Healy recently suffered an engineering compartment fire, cutting short its summer Arctic patrol, while the 50-year-old Polar Star is undergoing a service life extension program in California.

The Coast Guard is seeking to increase its icebreaking fleet with new Polar Security Cutters, a program that is running both behind schedule and over budget.

The lack of icebreaker capacity is a growing concern as Russia and China bolster their presence in the Arctic and increase use of the Northern Sea Route for shipping. The Coast Guard’s acquisition of the Aiviq aims to enhance U.S. capabilities in the region to meet these geopolitical shifts.

The Aiviq, a 360-foot Arctic ice class anchor handler, was built by Edison Chouest Offshore and originally chartered for Shell’s failed oil exploration efforts in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off Alaska in 2012. The vessel was recently chartered by the Australian government’s Antarctic Division for resupply missions to Australian research stations in Antarctica.