Page 21: of Marine News Magazine (September 2026)

20 22

Shipbuilding

Rebuilding the U.S. Icebreaking Fleet some of the lessons learnt from the PSC program delays. USCG remains how to embed lessons learnt from the PSC

Davie Defense companies Helsinki Shipyard (Finland) program into the HSC-L, -M, and -H programs.

and Davie Gulf Copper Galveston (USA) will respectively build two and three ASCs. In an effort to use commercially Delays and Cost Overruns on the PSC Program available and proven designs, Helsinki Shipyard is supply- The U.S. Government Accountability Of? ce (GAO), ing the Multi-Purpose Support Ship (MPPS) design for “DHS Annual Assessment: Dynamic Environment Affects the project. The $3.5 billion contract was ? nalized in May Efforts to Manage Acquisition Risks” report, published 2026. The ? rst vessel is scheduled to be delivered in 2028, June 9, 2026, highlighted signi? cant cost, schedule and with all ? ve vessels delivered by February 2035. design risks in the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program,

The PSC program continues to face major delays and cost originally baselined in 2018 and awarded to VT Halter growth (see next section): the lead ship’s cost target has risen Marine, now Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding, in 2019. to $3.4 billion, while delivery has been delayed by nine years. Following revisions in 2021 and 2022, the Coast Guard

The Coast Guard also issued a June 2026 RFP for seven raised the lead PSC’s (Polar Sentinel) cost target to $3.4 bil-

HSC-Ls to replace its aging 65-foot icebreaking tugs with lion. Originally planned for delivery in 2024 the lead PSC’s dual-purpose platforms capable of operating year-round in delivery is delayed delivery to March 2033. nine years later smaller ports across the Great Lakes and Northeast and than planned. The original full operational date was sched-

Mid-Atlantic coastal waters, from Maine to Virginia, in- uled for September 2029 and has been revised to March 2039. cluding the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and adjacent According to the GAO, cost growth re? ects poor pro- navigable waterways, and varying ice conditions while pro- gram management, limited visibility, design delays, inexpe- viding aids-to-navigation services. rience, COVID-19 and in? ation, while further risks include Plans for 11 HSC-Ms will replace the 140-foot Bay- workforce expansion, incomplete design and the absence of class ? eet, to provide icebreaking, maritime safety and se- a joint baseline review. The GAO review points out that re- curity, and missions such as search and rescue across the vised schedule remains subject to signi? cant risks, including

Great Lakes and Atlantic coast. a construction period of up to eight years, a planned 40%

The Coast Guard is also proposing the construction of one workforce increase at the shipyard by mid-2026, and the additional homeland security cutter-heavy icebreaker (HSC- absence of a joint baseline review with the shipbuilder.

H) to complement Mackinaw in keeping Great Lakes ship- The lead ship’s contract value subsequently increased by near- ping channels open and mitigating ice-related disruptions. ly $1 billion, while costs for PSCs 2 and 3 (tentatively named

Whilst the ASC program focuses on rapid delivery of Polar Bear & Polar Glacier) remain under negotiation. $4.3 bil- proven icebreaker designs leveraging world class overseas lion in One Big Beautiful Budget Act funding is expected to icebreaker construction capabilities, the challenge for the cover the ? rst two ships and long-lead materials for the third.

www.marinelink.com MN 21|