Seattle to house new polar icebreakers

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is lauding the Coast Guard’s recent decision noting Seattle will serve as the homeport for three new Coast Guard polar security cutters, or polar icebreakers.

“This is great news,” Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Coast Guard, said. “Homeporting new icebreakers in Puget Sound shows the significant role Washington state has to play in securing our waters and protecting our environment in the Arctic. The Puget Sound region supports a cutting-edge maritime workforce, which is poised to meet the needs of these new world-class vessels. I am excited to welcome new polar icebreakers and their Coast Guard crews to Seattle in the near future.”

Cantwell has been an advocate for expanding the nation’s icebreaker fleet, noting 13 years ago she secured a measure requiring the Coast Guard to develop a long-term plan for maintaining and upgrading the icebreaker fleet.

In 2016, Cantwell successfully persuaded the Obama administration to include new icebreaker funding in its FY 2017 budget request.

“I am pleased to announce that Seattle, Washington will be the home of the Coast Guard’s new Polar Security Cutters,” Admiral Karl L. Schultz, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, said. “The Pacific Northwest has been the home of our icebreaking fleet since 1976, and I am confident that the Seattle area will continue to provide the support we need to carry out our critical operations in the polar regions.”