US Coast Guard Commissions CGC ‘Storis’, Icebreaker to Depart on Arctic Patrol ‘Immediately’

Less than eight months after acquiring the icebreaking anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) Aiviq from an Edison Chouest Offshore subsidiary for $125m the U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the newly refurbished vessel as icebreaker Storis. 

The ceremony took place in Juneau, Alaska on August 10 and concludes the first phase of a years-long conversion process to bring the vessel up to Coast Guard standards and systems. 

The initial work was carried out across shipyards in Mississippi and Florida. The icebreaker then traveled from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska via the Panama Canal and stops in San Diego and Seattle.

Storis is set to depart right away to bolster the Coast Guard’s Arctic presence at a time of increased Chinese activity in the waters around Alaska. 

“Immediately following the commissioning, Storis with depart on patrol in the Coast Guard Arctic District area of operations. The U.S. Coast Guard operates the nation’s fleet of icebreakers to facilitate access to the polar regions to project U.S. sovereignty.”

The region is a growing zone of strategic global competition, the Coast Guard stated in a news release last week in response to five Chinese research vessels in the region.

“The U.S. Coast Guard detected and responded to two Chinese research vessels operating in the U.S. Arctic and is currently monitoring a total of five similar vessels in or near the U.S Arctic.” 

China has been ramping up activity in the Arctic for the past three years. Last summer saw three Chinese vessels conducting research operations north of the Bering Strait. This was followed by the first-ever joint Chinese-Russian coast guard Arctic patrol in October 2024. The flotilla, consisting of two Chinese coast guard vessels and two Russian border patrol ships, passed through the Bering Strait several times, including in proximity to Alaska. 

With the commissioning of Storis the Coast Guard now has a second option to patrol ice-covered Arctic waters. Last year’s Arctic patrol was cut short when Healy experienced and onboard fire requiring a return to Seattle for repairs. An engine room fire in August 2020 left the USCG without icebreaker presence in the Arctic for the remainder of that year. 

“CGC Storis was acquired to bolster these operations, providing near-term operational presence and supporting national strategic imperatives in the Arctic region as a bridging strategy for surface presence,” the Coast Guard said in an emailed statement. 

“The Coast Guard is America’s only surface presence in the Arctic,” the Coast Guard emphasized. 

With a length of 360 feet the 4,129 dwt Storis comes in at around two-third the size of the Coast Guard’s medium icebreaker Healy. The polar class 3-equivalent vessel can break through one meter of ice continuously at five knots. Storis was originally built for oil major Shell’s Arctic drilling operation back in 2012.

The Coast Guard aims to acquire at least a half dozen icebreakers in the coming years, with one vessel currently under construction at Bollinger Shipyards in Mississippi. Additional orders are expected in the near future as American, Canadian and Finnish shipyards are looking to secure contracts. 

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