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The U.S. Coast Guard has selected the Alaskan ports of Kodiak and Seward as the first homeports for its new fleet of Arctic Security Cutters. It said the first three vessels would be assigned to Alaskan ports, increasing the number from an earlier announcement, and in addition to plans for a new homeport at Juneau for the USCG Storis.
Under the plan announced on June 11, the USCG reports it is accelerating preparations to ensure that the ports will be prepared to receive the new vessels, which are expected to begin delivery in 2028. USCG said it is focusing on critical infrastructure and housing required to support the crews who will serve aboard the cutters and the critical shore support services.
The interim city manager for Kodiak, Tim Putney, told The Anchorage Daily News that the Coast Guard has already been working on constructing housing and two new piers at its existing base. Kodiak is already home to the largest USCG base in the Arctic District. Seward, however, the paper reports lost its only homeported curtter which was decommissioned in 2025 and currently only houses a small marine safety unit.
The first two new security cutters will be assigned to the base in Kodiak. A third will be homeported in Seward, while the Coast Guard previously reported USCG Storis would be homeported in Juneau. The commercial icebreaker, which the USCG acquired, is currently working from the base in Seattle alongside the Polar Star and Healey. The Coast Guard is spending $300 million to create the new homeport base in Juneau, which it now projects will be completed in 2029. Storis has a complement of approximately 200 aboard, and the new icebreakers are expected to similarly sized crews. The new cutters will be based at the Alaskan ports "when the infrastructure is ready," USCG said.
"America's future in the Arctic demands strength, capability, and resolve," said Trump's recently appointed Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. "These cutters will deliver the enduring operational capability our nation needs to defend our sovereignty, deter adversaries, and safeguard vital resources for the American people."
The Coast Guard says the cutters will anchor a modernized icebreaker fleet built for the most demanding conditions. Interim contracts were announced in 2025, going to Canada's Davie in partnership with Helsinki Shipyard and the group's newly acquired operations in Galveston, Texas. A second contract was being negotiated with Rauma Marine Constructions in Finland in partnership with Louisiana's Bollinger.
The first contract was finalized in April, calling for Davie to deliver a total of five vessels, with the first two built in Helsinki and the three others from the company's new plant in Texas. The first of the vessels is scheduled for delivery in 2028.
Contracts were also being completed, calling for Rauma to build two vessels in Finland and simultaneously to start work with Bollinger on four additional vessels of the same design.
The Trump plan calls for a total of 11 icebreakers. They are expected to be delivered between 2028 and 2035. In addition, work is underway at Bollinger on the much-delayed Polar Security Cutter program designed to replace Polar Star. The first heavy icebreaker, Polar Sentinel, is now expected to be delivered years behind schedule in 2030, and two sister ships are planned for 2032 and 2034.
Fuente: The Maritime Executive
