U.S. Must Build More Icebreakers Now

The United States has just two functioning icebreakers.

The Polar Star

While the recently re-furbished Polar Star is rushing to save two ships in Antarctica due to rapidly advancing ice, the USCGC Healy is the only other available U.S. icebreaker.  For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it is currently summer in Antarctica.

The Arctic ice cover has also increased dramatically this winter while Antarctica recently experienced the coldest temperature ever recorded on planet earth.  It is clear that ice-breaking capability will need to be increased to accommodate the expanding ice.

The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Louis S. St-Laurent (front)
 and the US Coast Guard vessel Healy (back)

The Arctic region is of increasing strategic importance, the U.S. is falling behind Russia, China, Canada, and other countries in its ability to maintain shipping channels and rescue stranded ships there.

(From Popular Mechanics)
The United States is the world’s colossus when it comes to every other kind of military hardware, yet it has just one 

Shackleton Ice Shelf In 1912

functioning icebreaker: the medium-strength USCGC Healy, which is primarily used for research. The ship made headlines recently for breaking open a route to the Alaskan town of Nome to aid in the delivery of much-needed fuel. It was a great mission, but it may have left an overly upbeat impression of American capabilities. 

According to National Defense magazine, the U.S. once operated 8 icebreakers.  In November 2013 four Senators proposed an amendment to the 2014 Defense Appropriations Act authorizing the construction of four new Polar class vessels, at a cost of $850 million each. The four Senators sponsoring the amendment were Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, from Washington, and Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska. According to the Seattle Times the chances that the amendment will survive into the bill, as passed, are slim.  

We need these icebreakers to deal with increasing activity in the arctic and antarctic regions. These investments will also sustain the Coast Guard’s ability to establish effective presence in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Chain: the gateway to the Arctic.