U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan today applauded the official announcement by the U.S. Coast Guard that a commercial icebreaker will be homeported in Juneau.
The Coast Guard is acquiring the Aiviq, a U.S.-registered ship originally built to serve as an Arctic oil-exploration support vessel, which has an icebreaking capability sufficient to serve as a Coast Guard medium polar icebreaker, after undergoing modification. The ship is being purchased from a subsidiary of Louisiana-based Edison Chouest, which built it in anticipation of oil project in the Chukchi Sea.
“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. “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.”
The Coast Guard was appropriated $125 million in fiscal year 2024 to buy an available icebreaker. Currently, the Aiviq is the only U.S. built commercial vessel meeting necessary icebreaking standards. The Coast Guard anticipates the vessel will reach initial operational capability in two years.
The Coast Guard has been the sole provider of America’s polar icebreaking capability since 1965 and is seeking to increase its icebreaking fleet with new Polar Security Cutters. The Coast Guard currently operates two polar icebreakers, the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a medium polar icebreaker, and the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, the only U.S. heavy polar icebreaker.
Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda L. Fagan, who is traveling with the senators in Alaska, had previously committed to the senators that the icebreaker would be homeported in Juneau. However, until now, the decision had not been made final.
In March, Sullivan and Murkowski successfully secured $125 million to purchase the icebreaker in the FY 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Act after years of advocacy. The United States currently has only one operational heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, which is on its second life extension. The one medium icebreaker, the Healy, recently had an onboard fire and was forced to cancel an Arctic mission.
Russia has 55 icebreakers and they are building more.
“This is an exciting day for Juneau, for Alaska, and for America. I want to commend Admiral Fagan for making this important announcement in our state, among Alaskans, and for keeping her commitment to homeport an icebreaker in Juneau,” said Senator Sullivan. “The need to build up our icebreaking capacity could not be more urgent: Just days ago, the Healy had to abort its summer Arctic patrol due to a fire, and the 50-year-old Polar Star remains out of commission undergoing its own repairs. Our national security interests in the Arctic have also never been more critical, demonstrated by the joint Russian and Chinese naval and air task forces that have operated off Alaska’s coastline these past two years. Since coming to the Senate, I’ve been working relentlessly to wake up our federal government to the strategic importance of this region. The sea change we’ve achieved since 2015 is unprecedented: serious Arctic security strategies from the Department of Defense (DOD) and each of the military services, a new DOD Arctic Security Studies Center at JBER, a new Department of Homeland Security Arctic Domain Awareness Center at UAA, America’s first deep-water Arctic port in Nome, a massive increase in Coast Guard vessels and infrastructure throughout Alaska that I secured working with the previous commandant, and now, an icebreaker will officially be coming to Juneau. We have a lot more work to do, but this is an important milestone and I know that the entire community of Juneau is working hard to prepare for it.”
We have one icebreaker home ported in Seattle and now one in Juneau. I guess we should be thankful that at least the ports are slowly meandering north and they aren’t being home ported in San Diego or Honolulu. Seems like Kodiak might be a port that could be feasible and @ 55 hours (one way) cruising speed closer to ice and the Bering Sea.
I agree with you. Dutch Harbor would be better, but there are probably maintenance and logistics issues I am not aware of.
Yeah, but Juneau is as much an island in the middle of nowhere as Dutch Harbor, which is the maritime hub for the western Gulf of Alaska for the fishing industry. And the largest Coast Guard base we have is Kodiak. Juneau is 55 sailing hours further away from ice. It smacks of political rather than logistical decision making, which is what everybody expects, anyway.
Man, isn’t that the truth. Why Juneau of ALL the options in Alaska? Money favors from the seat of power?Nawww, they wouldn’t do that.
Penny
Follow the money and you wind up in non important Juneau.
It’s all about money.
Amen to that!! Seems silly to have in Juneau !
Re-Activate the port at “ADAK” might even be a better option, combined with a Navy presence. Expensive operations due to the remoteness but, an expense that may prove to be well worth it.
Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski has been working on this ice breaker project for decades, pushing for Alaska as home port.
I also thank Senator Sullivan, and with our senior Senator, are Alaska’s double barrel shotgun.
So when the Masked Avenger sees the vessel in his home town of Juneau, he can thank primarily Senator Murkowski who’s also never seen a defense spending bill she didn’t like.
Awww. I’m still in your head, rent free.
You can suck up to Princess all you want. She’ll still never know you exist.
The icebreaker should be ported where it does more good, not cooks more pork.
But you like pork when Princess cooks it.
Well I wouldn’t consider that new breaker pork but that ice breaker could have very easily went to the northeast, Maine is probably not too happy with the decision.
I see you still read my posts rent free and yes I have met the senior Senator and looks like you’ may have a chance also when the breaker ceremony begins at the Harbor in beautiful Juneau Alaska if that decision becomes final.
“………Maine is probably not too happy with the decision……….”
Since the Russians operate over 50 icebreakers, and the Chinese (with zero beach frontage on the Arctic Ocean) operates four, it might be a great idea for the U.S. to have at least one icebreaker (and better to have two) on the Atlantic side. Or, I suppose we can just wait for Chicken Little to melt the Arctic altogether………
As you say “Lisa Murkowski has been working on this ice breaker project for decades” this is certainly not an endorsement of Senator Murkowski who’s best result after decades of work is a cast off vessel that needs to be overhauled, maybe you meant it as an endorsement, but it just shows a record of underperformance.
Steve; The election is over, the senior Senator won decisively over Kelly and needs no endorsement.
I was just stating the facts just like security’s fraud foreign owned pebble got kicked out of Alaska is a fact. We like facts on this site and that’s a fact. Facts, Facts, Facts. 😉
How do you like the new ice breaker, isn’t she a beauty?
Go Murky go!
3rd,
Fact is it’s not a new ice breaker like you claim.
Fact is you have fully admitted Murkowski has spent decades trying to get an ice breaker and after decades all she was able to get is a used boat that needs overhauled.
Fact is you aren’t always big on facts.
The overhaul makes it as good as new and she will be new to Alaska.
So there!
Wow, you really got me there.
😉
It’s an inherent difficult with dueling narratives. On the one hand, Lisa is fully on board with the manmade global warming due to CO2 emissions hoax. Part of that hoax is endless worry about ice in the Arctic Ocean disappearing. OTOH, if the ice disappears, you don’t need icebreakers.
Which one is it, Lisa? Appears that Lisa decided that the ice will persist, which is the smart move given that we are in the latter stages of an interglacial and there is nothing to stop the onset of the next cooldown. Cheers –
Murky has never turned down a donation either even if it was stolen money from Sammy”the Bankman” Freid.
She cares not about returning it to its rightful owners but insists on ratholing it at her relatives hippie commune in Homer.
It is hard to imagine where else the US would berth an ice breaker other than AK. So how hard did Lisa have to work this to get it up here? Of course the best she could do was Juneau. No where near an ice pack. Or even a large Coast Guard base.
oh hey cool, that’s only about 1500 statute miles from the average edge of the ice pack and nearly 2000 miles from Nome. At 12 knots that’s a cruise of 4 1/2 days and 6 days, respectively- and that’s without having to break ice.
Great job, guys.
As a Juneauite this is stupid.
That boat needs a west coast deep water port near the ice. Almost anywhere makes more sense.
Home Port this thing in Nome it can break ice coming and going and tie up in the new Harbor.
The local through the ice Crab Fishermen might not like it however…
yes I agree.
What’s the logic in homeporting an Icebreaker four days sail time from the closest frozen sea, which is the Bering Sea in Western Alaska???
Sounds like a lot of political a$$ kissing to me.
Willy; Don’t worry, that ice breaker will go where oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea dictates then she’ll be moored in Juneau during the warm summer months/weeks.
I think most Alaskans are happy about this.
3rd
No most Alaskans are smarter and see the same thing Juneau is the worst port other than miami.
Maybe Juneau can use it to bust up the annual ice dam in Suicide Basin. The only ice breaking politicians seem to be doing is when they have those closed-door freaky-deaky Eyes Wide Shut parties.
We have a lot of Liberals here in Juneau who believe this will create more climate change. Most of them are oblivious to the fact that many other countries are in the Arctic building infrastructure for resource extraction. They may protest this.
Unfortunately everything in Juneau is a disaster.
Yakutat or Kodiak make more sense.
Dutch Harbor.
Agreed, yet I think Nome, Dutch Harbor or Kodiak make more sense. Guess they have to keep Juneau’s economy alive some how. Whatever happend to the will of the people? Alaska voters overwhelmingly voted twice to move the capital.
Surprised to that Juneau is not whining over the increased pollution or population that comes from a homeport.
What is interesting is that Juneau was trying to get rid of the cruise ships, but they want an icebreaker?
This ice-breaker should be home-ported in NOME – near where there is ICE TO BREAK!
I was a medic on that ship during some of the more publicized roles it played…. That’s a stout boat! Nice!
It is stout. I was on here a couple of times. It’s also the vessel that lost tow on the Kulluk drill rig which ran around near Kodiak.
Man, isn’t that the truth. Why Juneau of ALL the options in Alaska? Money favors from the seat of power?Nawww, they wouldn’t do that.
This is a small start, but why not a homeport closer to the arctic like Yakutat, Seward, Homer, Kodiak, or Dutch Harbor?
Steve; Because the Masked Avenger wanted it in Juneau.
It should be based in Kodiak where there is a huge coast guard base to support it not the peoples republic of north Seattle er I mean Juneau.
Now to get on with building a real ice breaker – how long have they fiddled with design alone while frittering plenty of money. Quit trying to make everytihing hi teck and tomorrow’s technology that will take years of de-bugging. Too many cooks stirring that pot. Design and build a solid ship NOW. No more twiddling.
It’s unbelievable what it takes us to build a frigging boat. The commercial boat builders build entire cruise ships in 36 months. What’s the problem here exactly??
Dutch Harbor, Nome or Dillingham make a lot more sense.
Nome does not have proper port yet nor does dillingham. YET.
Great, homeport an icebreaker over a thousand miles away from any possible icebreaking duties! Kodiak or Dutch Harbor would make much more sense, even Seward is more sensible than Juneau. Stupid is as stupid does.
Right at least Seward is on the road system for repairs and replenishment. Homer. Anywhere but Juneau.
This falls into the category of all federal spending in Alaska being good no matter the purpose or effectiveness. The Coast Guard said they do not want this boat, in part because it’s old but mostly because it is not an ice breaker. And Juneau is not logistically suitable for an ice breaker, real or imagined, until the coming ice age really kicks in. Juneau has no available housing and its schools are failing badly. The city-owned hospital is losing $1 million a month, and the BIA contractor, a huge nonprofit, has opened its doors to all residents in those therapy areas that have positive cash flow, leveraging that federal contract. The Juneau homeless problem has some remarkable similarities to the Anchorage situation, and believe it or not it’s being more badly managed. Don’t forget, like all federal spending this adds to the federal deficit.
But Coast Guard people are always a great addition to any community. The statistical average of everything good in Juneau will rise from this federal spending. The next world war will resolve the federal deficit, and I think many people intend that.
Kayak absolutely about the next World war. It’s already started I believe. Makes me wonder how 20 million college kids will react to their draft notice and the head shave and the tackle being removed from their faces. Actually will make funny video. This country needs a good house cleaning.
Whatever happened to common sense?
Juneau is in the middle of our banana belt.
Why not port it where it is needed???
That looks more like a tug-boat than an ice-breaker.
I can’t see it busting through 3 or 4 feet of ice…
Maybe a foot?
And scrawny…
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