Old icebreaker gets a six-month reprieve

Seattle-based Polar Sea was headed to the scrap yard, but Alaska and Washington senators persuade U.S. Coast Guard to hold off

Wesley Loy

For Petroleum News

A trio of U.S. senators announced June 15 they had succeeded in persuading the U.S. Coast Guard to slow down its plan for scrapping one of the nation’s few icebreakers.

Disposal of the Polar Sea was set to begin right away, but is now postponed through 2012, the senators said.

The action was agreed to in a meeting between Coast Guard Commandant Robert Papp and Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Maria Cantwell of Washington.

The Polar Sea, commissioned in 1977, experienced major engine problems in 2010 and has been inoperative in its homeport of Seattle.

The senators argue that scrapping the Polar Sea would further hobble the icebreaking capability of the United States, which has only one operational icebreaker, the Healy.

Unlike the Polar Sea, which is a heavy icebreaker, the Healy is a medium duty ship designed primarily for scientific research.

The Coast Guard has another heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star. But it, too, is old and inoperative. It’s expected to return to duty in 2013 following a major overhaul.

Considerable debate has swirled around the question of how the nation can best meet its icebreaker needs as the Arctic Ocean becomes increasingly open to human activity.

New heavy icebreakers are extraordinarily expensive to build. But it’s not clear whether overhauling old vessels is the way to go.

The 399-foot Polar Sea is one of the world’s most powerful non-nuclear icebreakers, able to break up to 21 feet of ice, the Coast Guard says.

A June 15 press release from Cantwell’s office said the Polar Sea was scheduled to be drydocked and taken apart beginning June 18. The process would have ripped out the vessel’s “hubs” and sealed off major portions of the ship, a prelude to final destruction.

“We are glad the Coast Guard has agreed to postpone the scrapping of this valuable icebreaker,” said Cantwell, a Democrat. “This is good news for Washington shipbuilding jobs and for America’s icebreaking capability. The Polar Sea’s hull is still in sound condition. Postponing its scrapping allows the Administration and Congress more time to consider all options for fulfilling the nation’s critical icebreaking missions.”

Said Begich, also a Democrat: “The Coast Guard has listened to our call to postpone the drydocking of the Polar Sea so we can continue to explore the most cost-effective measures to ensure the United States has adequate icebreaking capabilities. Rebuilding this valuable cutter would save taxpayer dollars, create jobs and increase our ability to operate in the Arctic, and I look forward to continuing to discuss next steps in revitalizing the Polar Sea.”

“As an Arctic nation, we need to proceed intelligently as opportunities open up in our northern waters,” said Murkowski, a Republican. “Dismantling critical components of the Polar Sea without a complete plan for its replacement and a year before Polar Star will be back in the water would not be the best course of action. While this may only be a six-month respite for the Polar Sea, I will use this period to work through my role on the Appropriations Committee to make America’s icebreaking capacity a top priority.”

Recently the Coast Guard, in its five-year capital investment plan, penciled in $860 million for a new polar icebreaker.

The Cantwell press release cited one study indicating at least six heavy and four medium icebreakers are needed to meet Coast Guard and Navy mission requirements.

The Coast Guard is planning a large summer deployment of cutters and aircraft to the Arctic in support of Shell’s planned offshore drilling.