The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded Bollinger Shipyards a $951.6 million contract to advance work on the service’s first new heavy icebreaker in nearly five decades, the United States Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Polar Sentinel (WMSP-21).
The Louisiana-based shipbuilder announced that the contract moves the U.S. Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program into the design and construction phase. The program aims to deliver at least three, and potentially up to five, heavy icebreakers, with the first vessel, the 460’x88′ USCGC Polar Sentinel, expected for delivery in 2030.
“Securing this contract modification has truly been a herculean effort and underscores the incredible trust the U.S. government has placed in Bollinger to build and deliver the first heavy polar icebreaker in half a century,” Bollinger Shipyards President and CEO Ben Bordelon said in a company statement Tuesday.
Bordelon credited the leadership and workforce at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding for successfully putting the PSC program on track after challenges under the previous, foreign-owned builder. “We now look forward to receiving the green light to begin full production,” he added.
U.S. officials have earlier emphasized the icebreaker program’s importance in maintaining an Arctic presence, particularly as Russia operates the world’s largest fleet of icebreakers. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin recently announced the completion of four nuclear-powered icebreakers and the construction of a sixth.
The PSC program is set to replace the Coast Guard’s aging icebreaker fleet. The only current heavy icebreaker, USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10), was commissioned in 1976, while the service’s only medium icebreaker, USCGC Healy (WAGB-20), entered service in 1999.
According to a 2024 Congressional Budget Office report, the first three PSCs could cost around $5.1 billion—more than twice initial estimates. The next two vessels in the series are named USCGC Polar Bear and USCGC Polar Glacier.
