On September 23, 2026, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded a $315 million contract for the design and construction of a cutter mooring and new fuel pier at Coast Guard Base Kodiak. The project includes waterfront improvements such as grading work to improve ground stability; construction of a new fueling utility building; installation of utilities, cutter shore ties, and other site amenities, including information technology, water and sewage and safety equipment; and unexploded ordnance removal. The infrastructure improvements will help prepare Kodiak for the homeporting of two Arctic Security Cutters, bolstering U.S. national security in the Arctic.
According to a press release from the Alaska congressional delegation, Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowskia and Rep. Nick Begich helped secure the funding necessary for the projects in three critical pieces of legislation: Working Families Tax Cuts Act (2025), Major Acquisition Systems Infrastructure (FY 2023), and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2022).
“Base Kodiak is critical to America’s long-term Arctic strategy,” said Congressman Begich. “As we bring new cutters and personnel to Alaska, we must have the strategic infrastructure in place to support them. Congress made a historic commitment to rebuilding and modernizing the Coast Guard, and this project represents the next phase of that investment. This new fuel pier and major cutter mooring will strengthen force readiness and ensure our Coast Guard has the infrastructure necessary to carry out its mission across Alaska and the Arctic.”
In May of this year, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded an $81.8 million contract for the design and construction of family housing and a water tank at Nemetz Park Site, US Coast Guard Base in Kodiak, Alaska.
About a month later in June, the Coast Guard officially announced that the first two icebreakers under construction will be committed to Kodiak with another slated for later homeporting in Seward. An existing icebreaker, the Storis, was commissioned in Juneau in August 2025. The new icebreakers are being built in Finland as part of a U.S.-Finland agreement to fast-track American icebreaker production. China and Russia currently outpace America’s icebreaker fleet, prompting particular focus on icebreaker capacity as a national security concern.
“Alaska is a cornerstone of American defense; investments like this from the Coast Guard are critical as we work to improve infrastructure on bases across the state to maintain our national security,” said Sen. Murkowski. “The construction of a new fuel pier, which will also allow for the berthing of two Arctic Security Cutters, bolsters Base Kodiak’s capability to carry out Coast Guard missions in the Arctic. I’m proud to have helped the Coast Guard leverage these historic investments to strengthen infrastructure and operations in Alaska as we support our Coast Guard men and women, as well as their families.”
Beyond icebreakers, the WFTCA included major investments across the Coast Guard’s fleet: $1 billion for approximately 10 Fast Response Cutters (FRC), $4.3 billion for approximately 9 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC), $2.2 billion for approximately 40 MH-60 helicopters, and $1.1 billion for approximately 6 HC-130 aircraft. Critically, these efforts are backed by over $3 billion for shoreside infrastructure to support the homeporting of these assets, including the $300 million for the homeporting of the Storis in Juneau.
“The historic build-up of the Coast Guard in Alaska and Kodiak continues today with $315 million coming for shoreside infrastructure projects in this great Coast Guard community,” said Sen. Sullivan, chair of the Senate Commerce Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries Subcommittee. “My delegation colleagues and I worked hard in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to deliver the largest investment in the Coast Guard in history—$25 billion—much of which is coming to our great state. These investments are great news for our Coast Guard, Alaska’s economy, and the hard-working families of Kodiak. I was glad to tour the site for this new berth and fuel pier this summer with the Coast Guard Commandant and the Homeland Security Secretary, both of whom understand the importance of Kodiak to the Coast Guard and our national security. I look forward to seeing these projects break ground as Kodiak prepares to welcome major new Coast Guard assets, including two new icebreakers, two offshore patrol cutters, and hundreds of new Coasties and their families.”
