The U.S. Coast Guard has officially increased its fleet of icebreakers by 50%. The service announced this week that it had purchased the 360-foot icebreaker Aiviq. The ship, following some minor modifications, will enter military service as the Coast Guard Cutter Storis.
The soon-to-be CGC Storis is part of the service’s efforts to massively grow its fleet of icebreakers. The Coast Guard is, in its own words “hampered” in terms of operational capabilities in the polar regions. Prior to the acquisition of the Aiviq on Nov. 20, the Coast Guard had only the 399-foot heavy icebreaker Polar Star and the 420-foot medium icebreaker Healy. The former was commissioned in 1976, the latter in 1999. The Coast Guard now aims to have at least eight new ice in the coming years to meet its operational goals.
The Storis is expected to be based out of port in Juneau, Alaska, although the Coast Guard said that the infrastructure for it will take some time.
Meanwhile the Coast Guard’s project to build new, modern heavy icebreakers is finally underway. On Dec. 19, approval was granted to construct the first of its Polar Security Cutters. The brand new ships will be capable of plowing through several feet of ice in the polar regions and are the first heavy polar icebreaker built for the Coast Guard in five decades. The project itself has been delayed; the Coast Guard had previously planned to have the first new heavy icebreaker be delivered this year. The Coast Guard said its announcement on the new Polar Security Cutters that the work is part of an “innovative approach to shorten the delivery timeline of these critical national assets,” although it’s not clear when they will actually be delivered.
The acquisition of the Aiviq and its transformation into the Storis is meant to help bolster the Coast Guard’s Arctic capabilities while newer ships are constructed. The limits of the Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet were clear this summer when the Healy suffered an electrical fire, forcing it to cancel a mission in the Arctic.
The icebreaker efforts come as the United States military adjusts to new threats from China and Russia in the Arctic. The military’s 2024 Arctic Strategy notes that climate change has opened up more navigable routes in the north, although enough ice remains that special ships are needed to help patrol the waters. Meanwhile, joint exercises by Chinese and Russian forces have prompted the U.S. to deploy ships to Arctic waters this summer. The 2024 Arctic Strategy notes that both Russia and China have been building up infrastructure and ships for the colder regions. It’s a security concern that the Coast Guard also noted in its announcement of its purchase of the Aiviq.
“I acknowledge we have a national security threat now from the increased threat of competitors who are working together in ways we have not seen,” Vice Adm. Peter Gautier, the Coast Guard’s Deputy Commandant for Operations said in a statement.
Outside of the Coast Guard, the military has been repositioning assets to address potential threats in the north. The Army stood up a new command based in Alaska for two aviation battalions this summer. Earlier this year the Army rapidly deployed paratroopers and missile teams to an island in the Aleutians as a drill and warning to show how quickly it could move troops if needed.
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