|
Pushing in Congress for US icebreakers U.S. icebreaker capacity is far behind those of Russia and Canada; new bills would require supply of new icebreakers to Coast Guard Alan Bailey Petroleum News
With the U.S. Coast Guard currently having only one operational icebreaker in an era when the Arctic Ocean is opening up for increased marine traffic and offshore industrial operations, Alaska’s representatives in the U.S. Congress have been pushing to beef up the U.S. icebreaker fleet. Both of the Coast Guard’s existing heavy icebreakers are decades old and are currently inoperable. The one icebreaker in operation, the Healy, is a medium duty vessel used primarily for scientific research.
Fallen behind On Oct. 18, during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked Vice Admiral Brian Salerno, deputy commandant for operations, U.S. Coast Guard, about Russian and Canadian icebreaker capabilities. The Russians have eight heavy icebreakers and 13 light ice breakers, while the Canadians have two medium icebreakers and four light icebreakers, Salerno responded.
“I have suggested many, many times that the current status of our icebreaking capacity, as an Arctic nation, simply is unacceptable,” Murkowski commented.
Salerno said that one of the inoperable U.S. heavy icebreakers, the Polar Sea, is about to be placed on a continuing inactive status. The other heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, is being refurbished. The Polar Star should go back into service in 2013, at which point the aging vessel should have a remaining service life of seven to 10 years, Salerno said.
The question of what happens when the Polar Star finally retires is the subject of an ongoing analysis of the Coast Guard’s and nation’s needs in the Arctic, he said.
House bill A bill introduced recently to the House of Representatives by Congressman Don Young and called the Polar Protection Act would require the Coast Guard to enter into long-term leases for two new icebreakers within four years of the bill being enacted. Each lease would need to last at least 10 years. To avoid any dependency on the leasing of foreign vessels, the icebreakers would need to be built and maintained in the United States.
“The race for the Arctic has begun and we are getting beaten by the likes of China and Russia,” Rep. Young said. “Too much is at stake up there for us to not act now. With the ice melting and the Arctic region becoming more and more accessible, the potential is enormous for new resource development and transportation opportunities.”
Leasing rather than owning icebreakers needs to be considered as an option for relieving stress on the annual federal budget, Young said.
Asked by Murkowski about the possibility of leasing icebreakers, Salerno said that option is being considered as part of an independent business case analysis for the Coast Guard’s Arctic needs. That analysis is currently undergoing review, he said.
Re-authorization Act In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Mark Begich, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, introduced the Coast Guard Re-authorization Act, an act which would authorize financial appropriations for U.S. Coast Guard operations in financial years 2012 and 2013. One section of the act requires the U.S. administration to acquire two heavy polar icebreakers for Coast Guard use, by building new icebreakers or refurbishing existing icebreakers.
The re-authorization act in its entirety covers the complete spectrum of Coast Guard operations, including personnel, equipment and facilities.
“Last year Congress passed into law the first Coast Guard authorization act in many years,” Begich said. “With this new authorization bill, we renew our nation’s commitment to the Coast Guard and make sure they have the cutters, aircraft, small boats, shore facilities and statutory authorities to perform their varied and necessary missions.”
|
