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Trump tax bill would fund purchase of up to eight medium

and

heavy ice breakers

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Coast Guard seeks to add as many as nine polar icebreakers

for

Arctic use

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Arctic seas are increasingly being considered for trade

routes

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Trump has pushed for shipbuilding revival, dozens of

icebreakers

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES, July 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's

massive tax and spending bill earmarks more than $8.6 billion to

increase the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker fleet in the Arctic,

where Washington hopes to counter rising Russian and Chinese

dominance.

The funding includes $4.3 billion for up to three new heavy

Coast Guard Polar Security Cutters, $3.5 billion for medium

Arctic Security Cutters, and $816 million for procurement of

additional light and medium icebreaking cutters.

The cutters will have reinforced hulls and specially angled

bows designed for open-water icebreaking.

The Coast Guard had been seeking eight to nine Arctic-ready

ice breakers. Its current fleet now just includes three.

Trump has been pushing to revive U.S. shipbuilding to

counter China's growing strength in maritime manufacturing and

naval dominance. Earlier this year, he unveiled separate plans

to levy fees and tariffs on Chinese ships and port equipment

including ship-to-shore cranes to bolster that effort.

As climate change shrinks polar ice packs, Arctic seas are

increasingly being considered as trade routes connecting the

Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to major economies.

China and Russia have been working together to develop

Arctic shipping routes and fortify their defenses. The United

States, Canada and Finland last year announced a trilateral

partnership called the "ICE Pact" to build a fleet of 70 to 90

ice-breaking ships over the coming decade to "project power"

into the polar region and enforce international norms and

treaties.

Trump has also repeatedly called for the United States to

acquire as many as 40 new icebreakers to enhance national

security in the Arctic. Those icebreakers could help companies

with logistics and keep open supply lines for potential oil and

gas and mineral development in the rugged and frigid region.

Russia has the world's largest fleet of icebreakers and

ice-capable patrol ships with 57, according to the International

Institute for Strategic Studies.

China has a far smaller fleet, but is also investing in

growing it. The two countries in May pledged to raise

cooperation to a new level and "decisively" counter U.S.

influence.

WHO BUILDS THEM?

Potential shipbuilders for the new U.S. icebreakers include

Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding, which in June announced plans

to buy Gulf Copper & Manufacturing's shipbuilding assets in

Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas.

"We welcome the commitment to strengthen America's

icebreaker fleet," a Davie spokesperson said. "This is a vital

step in addressing growing threats and emerging opportunities in

the Arctic."

Singapore-based Keppel's Keppel Amfels also has a

presence in Texas.

Louisiana-based shipbuilders Bollinger Shipyards and Edison

Chouest Offshore in May announced a strategic partnership called

United Shipbuilding Alliance (USA) to build icebreakers to meet

"urgent Arctic operational needs."

Bollinger is already building the first ship in the Polar

Security Cutter Program at its Pascagoula, Mississippi,

facility. But the project, started by a shipbuilder Bollinger

purchased, "has been plagued by delays and cost overruns," the

Congressional Budget Office said. Representatives from Bollinger

did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An August 2024 CBO report estimated that building all three

new Polar Security Cutters on the Coast Guard wish list would

cost $5.1 billion in 2024 dollars, roughly 60% more than the

Coast Guard had estimated.

Shipyards in Canada or Finland could also build the ships,

but that would require a presidential waiver for the U.S. Coast

Guard to buy ships from a foreign yard, U.S. Naval Institute

News said.

The Coast Guard recently took possession of its first polar

icebreaker in 25 years. Built by Edison Chouest Offshore's North

American Shipbuilding in 2012, according to LSEG data, the

modified Coast Guard Cutter Storis set sail in June and its home

port will be Juneau, Alaska.

The polar fleet also includes the 399-foot heavy icebreaker

Polar Star, and the 420-foot medium icebreaker Healy, according

to its website.