In recent years, the U.S. has ramped up its interest in the arctic as an important region for defense and diplomacy.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Alaska congressional delegation has secured $125 million as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, to go toward the purchase and outfitting of a commercially available icebreaker for the U.S. Coast Guard.
On Thursday, March 21, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, along with Representative Mary Peltola, announced the development, in a press conference, saying the icebreaker will be stationed in Arctic waters. In response, the senator said Alaska has been working toward securing three of these vessels since 2017. “Over the years, basically since 2017, I have been successful in putting in funding for what we call the PCS account. It’s the Polar Security Cutter program.”
However, Murkowski said it’s expected to take several years before Alaska sees a brand new icebreaker in its waters. “When we first started this, it was anticipated that we would see the first hauler in the water by 2026. That is no longer the case. It will be really wishful and optimistic thinking if we can get it in by 2030.”
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