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CG steps up bid to rescue icebreaker funding

Time is running out for the Coast Guard to maintain its full fleet of three polar-capable icebreakers under the government’s two-headed funding system for the ships, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen said Monday, as top officials in the lifesaving service prepare to make a case for what they need to operate in the “new” warmer Arctic.

The Coast Guard splits responsibility for its icebreakers with the National Science Foundation, which under a 2006 law pays to run and maintain the ships, albeit with Coast Guard crews, after they were designated as primarily for research purposes. But starting next year, the NSF doesn’t plan to continue paying to maintain the oldest ship, the Polar Star, which has been in reserve status since 2006. With no funding, the Polar Star would lose its skeleton crew and its capability to become operational with about 12 months’ notice.

That would reduce the Coast Guard’s heavy icebreaking fleet to two ships — the Polar Star’s 30-year-old sister ship, Polar Sea, and the much-newer Healy, commissioned in 2000 — even as top service officials in Washington and Alaska warn about a longer shipping season in the Arctic, an energy rush, environmental concerns and other phenomena at the melting top of the world.

Congress changed the law before national leaders realized the extent to which the Arctic would become pressing in the 21st century, Allen said, and the Coast Guard has already begun the effort that will help him make the case for further changes: Commanders in Alaska plan to conduct an unprecedented expedition to the Arctic this summer, including trip already underway by the Healy, to get a clear sense of their capabilities and problems operating above the Bering Strait. When that survey is finished, probably by August, Allen and the commander of District 17, Rear Adm. Arthur “Gene” Brooks, will be able to make their case to Congress for funding and new gear, Allen said.

A spokeswoman for the NSF did not return Navy Times’ request for information about this story.

There is no simple solution to the icebreaker situation, according to a Feb. 26 report by the Congressional Research Service. The report quotes the findings of a 2007 National Research Council investigation, which found that the under-funded icebreaker fleet “is now at risk of being unable to support national interests in the north and the south.” And it laid out a set of options for the Coast Guard’s Arctic capability, which included:

* Replacing the two Polar-class icebreakers with new ships, at the cost of up to $925 million per copy.

* 25-year service life extensions for the older ships, at a cost of about $400 million per ship.

* Reactivating just the Polar Star for seven to 10 years, at a cost of $56.6 million.

* Reactivating the Polar Star for a single deployment, if needed, to Antarctica, which could cost about $8.2 million.

Top Coast Guard officials are keeping to themselves which option or combination of options they prefer. Allen repeated on Monday his call for a “national discussion” on the Arctic, and said that once Congress and other top leaders form a policy on the Arctic, he will know what additional support to ask for.