Coast Guard Adds 1st Polar Icebreaker to Fleet in 25 Years

The future Coast Guard cutter Storis. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard has officially welcomed its first polar icebreaker in more than 25 years – the recently acquired Aiviq, a commercial vessel that’s being renamed CGC Storis, the Guard said Dec. 23.

Storis, which means “great ice” in Scandinavia, is a nod to the original CGC (Coast Guard Cutter) Storis, a legendary light icebreaker and medium endurance cutter commissioned in 1942 that patrolled for submarines and ran convoys during World War II and led the first American transit of the Northwest Passage.

In 1948, the original Storis was moved to Alaska where she conducted law enforcement, search and rescue, and humanitarian relief for 59 years until being decommissioning in 2007.

The new CGC Storis was acquired last November. The vessel’s expected to be permanently homeported in Juneau, Alaska once the shoreside infrastructure is ready, but the design and construction work for the homeporting project will take several years, according to the USCG.

“The Coast Guard is thrilled to acquire this icebreaker,” Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan said. “Like its namesake, this cutter highlights the Coast Guard’s long history of operating in the Arctic and demonstrates our commitment to assert and protect U.S. sovereignty in the region.”

The Coast Guard received appropriation for a commercially available polar icebreaker in 2024 to supplement mission readiness and capability in the polar regions while Polar Security Cutters (PSC) are built.

At a time of heightened activity in the area – including the first joint Russian/Chinese patrol passing near Alaska this summer – the Guard only has two operational polar icebreakers.

“Our medium polar icebreaker, CGC Healy, was temporarily sidelined after experiencing an electrical fire in July. Meanwhile, the CGC Polar Star, a heavy polar icebreaker, is nearly 50 years old,” the Guard said in a statement.

The Coast Guard said that it completed the purchase of the m/v Aiviq, — a 360-foot U.S.-built polar class 3-equivalent icebreaker — for $125 million from Offshore Surface Vessels LLC on Nov. 20.

The vessel, which was built in 2012, has supported oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska in the Arctic Ocean, and has deployed twice to the Antarctic, the Guard said.

“As a polar class 3-equivalent icebreaker, the future CGC Storis is expected to be capable of operating in waters that are otherwise inaccessible to most Coast Guard cutters,” the USCG stated.

The initial commissioning crew of the future CGC Storis is expected to consist of about 60 officers and enlisted personnel, who are to be assigned this summer.

By Mark Edward Nero