Coast Guard awards nearly $1B contract mod to Bollinger for heavy icebreaker design, construction

Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Polar Star at McMurdo research station in Anarctica. ((U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Grant DeVuyst)

WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard awarded Bollinger Shipyards a $951 million contract modification to advance the detail design and construction of the service’s upcoming heavy icebreaker program, a ship that will play a crucial role in allowing the Pentagon to operate in the High North.

The Polar Security Cutter program, a top acquisition priority for the USCG, aims to deliver four or five heavy icebreakers, a long-past-due upgrade to the service’s legacy fleet. When the lead ship comes online, it will be the first, brand new, American-made heavy icebreaker in decades.

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“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,” Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, said in a company statement on Tuesday. “We wouldn’t be in the solid position we’re in today without the leadership and the tireless efforts of the entire team at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding. Their hard work and dedication have successfully put the PSC program on a strong path forward after a rocky start under the previous, foreign-owned builder. We now look forward to receiving the green light to begin full production.”

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard did not immediately return a request for comment from Breaking Defense.

The PSC program was originally announced more than a decade ago, but suffered several delays in its first years. Bollinger took the reins after it acquired then-prime contractor VT Halter from foreign owners in 2022. Bollinger said the first ship is now scheduled for delivery in May 2030.

The USCG has previously estimated the cost of the lead ship to be approximately $1.3 billion, but government auditors suspect that cost will rise due to the complexity and difficulties associated with building a heavy icebreaker.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the United States to buy “about 40 icebreakers.” It’s not clear from Trump’s comments who would build that fleet or how the Department of Homeland Security or Defense could afford such a massive buy on top of the country’s other priorities.

When asked about the president’s comments, National Security Council Spokesperson Brian Hughes told Breaking Defense earlier this month, “President Trump’s statement sends a clear signal to industry and the world that America is serious about maintaining a presence in the Arctic to secure our economic and national security. This administration is prioritizing building icebreakers as part of their initiative to revitalize America’s maritime and shipbuilding industries.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s state-run news service, TASS, reported the country’s prime minister provided lawmakers with an update on its own icebreaker construction.

“For further development of the Arctic, we continue to form our fleet of the largest and most powerful nuclear icebreakers in the world. We have already completed the construction of the fourth vessel, named Yakutia. The fifth one — Chukotka — has been launched. The sixth nuclear-powered icebreaker of this class, Leningrad, was laid down at the Baltic Shipyard,” Mikhail Mishustin said.

Russia has the largest fleet of icebreakers of varying sizes and capabilities of any country in the world, according to US Coast Guard statistics.