Cantwell announces $323M to prepare Seattle for Polar Security Icebreakers

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) on Thursday, January 29, secured a commitment from U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Kevin Lunday for an additional $323 million investment to prepare Base Seattle to be homeport to the first three new heavy icebreakers, the first of which will be delivered by 2030—something Sen. Cantwell has long championed.

“It is, Ranking Member Cantwell,” Adm. Lunday responded to Cantwell’s question to if Seattle is part of the COst Guard’s prioritization plan for the future.

During the Subcommittee Hearing on “Evaluating Progress After Historic Investments in the U.S. Coast Guard,” Adm. Lunday also announced plans to visit Station Cape Disappointment in Southwest Washington state in mid-February.

The critical part of the work there is to rebuild and build out the capability for our Polar Security Cutters that will be homeported there, as well as [the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter] Healy, which continues to be homeported there […] We had resources through annual appropriations before for some of that work, and reconciliation adds additional resources to advance and complete that work.”

Coast Guard Base Seattle, nestled on Elliott Bay’s Piers 36 and 37 south of Colman Dock, serves as the critical hub for America’s polar icebreaking operations, supporting missions in the Arctic and Antarctic amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The Coast Guard’s Facilities Design and Construction Center awarded an initial $137 million contract to Whiting-Turner to modernize Pier 36 with dredging, new berths and utilities to accommodate three deeper-draft Polar Security Cutters (PSCs) — the first new heavy icebreakers in decades, under construction in Mississippi with delivery expected by 2030. Total PSC costs: $5.1 billion for the initial trio, nearly $2 billion over budget but backed by Congress.