Trump bill targets Arctic dominance with $8.6 billion for US Coast Guard icebreakers

Bollinger is already building the first ship in the polar security cutter program at its Pascagoula, Mississippi, facility. But the project, started by a shipbuilder Bollinger purchased, "has been plagued by delays and cost overruns," the Congressional Budget Office said. Representatives from Bollinger did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An August 2024 CBO report estimated that building all three new polar security cutters on the coast guard wish list would cost $5.1 billion in 2024 dollars, roughly 60 per cent more than the coast guard had estimated.

Shipyards in Canada or Finland could also build the ships, but that would require a presidential waiver for the US Coast Guard to buy ships from a foreign yard, US Naval Institute News said.

The Coast Guard recently took possession of its first polar icebreaker in 25 years. Built by Edison Chouest Offshore's North American Shipbuilding in 2012, according to LSEG data, the modified Coast Guard Cutter Storis set sail in June and its home port will be Juneau, Alaska.

The polar fleet also includes the 399-foot heavy icebreaker Polar Star, and the 420-foot medium icebreaker Healy, according to its website.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, additional reporting by Timothy Gardner and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot)