US shipbuilder Bollinger Shipyards is building two new US Coast Guard icebreaker classes across its Gulf Coast network, with the first heavy Polar Security Cutter taking shape in Mississippi and construction of the first US-built Arctic Security Cutter under way in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to Bollinger Shipyards.
At Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, stern sections of USCGC Polar Sentinel stood almost four storeys high in early August as work progressed on the specialised thick steel forming the vessel’s ice belt.
Bollinger told Congress in July that 33 of Polar Sentinel’s 85 modules were under construction, with 43 expected to be under way by the end of 2026.
Polar Sentinel will be the first US-built heavy polar icebreaker in nearly five decades. Bollinger expects completion in May 2030, while the Coast Guard targets delivery of the first Polar Security Cutter in fiscal 2030, followed by the second in 2032 and third in 2034.
Bollinger inherited the programme after acquiring VT Halter Marine in 2022 and later received a $951.6m contract modification for further work. The programme has experienced delays and rising costs.
Construction of the first US-built Arctic Security Cutter began in April. Edison Chouest Offshore’s LaShip facility is building the mid-body, Bollinger Larose is producing the bow and stern sections and Bollinger Gulfport is building the superstructure. Final assembly is planned in Houma, Louisiana.
The Coast Guard has contracted Bollinger to build up to four Arctic Security Cutters in the US using the Multi-Purpose Icebreaker design developed by Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards with Finland’s Aker Arctic Technology.
Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions is building two additional cutters, with the first Finnish-built vessel due in 2028. The first US-built Bollinger cutter is scheduled for delivery in 2029.
Bollinger Shipyards is a privately owned US shipbuilding and repair group with facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi. It has delivered 189 vessels to the US Coast Guard over more than four decades.