U.S. Coast Guard receives green light to start building first new Polar Security Cutter

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Category: Salvamento Maritimo
Published on Sunday, 29 December 2024 07:55
Written by Administrator2
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Sea Air Space 2021: VT Halter Marine Unveils Polar Security Cutter Design For USCG
Scale model of the USCG's future PSC.

 

The U.S. Coast Guard/U.S. Navy Integrated Program Office received approval Dec. 19 to begin to build the first polar security cutter (PSC).

Naval News Staff  24 Dec 2024

 

U.S. Coast Guard press release

 

The PSC is the first heavy polar icebreaker constructed in the United States in more than five decades. The work is being performed by Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the prime contractor for design and construction of the future PSC fleet. This decision continues work that has been underway since the summer of 2023 as part of an innovative approach to shorten the delivery timeline of these critical national assets. 

 

The approval incorporates eight prototype fabrication assessment units (PFAUs) that are currently underway or planned. The PFAU effort was structured as a progressive crawl-walk-run approach to help the shipbuilder strengthen skills across the workforce and refine construction methods before full-rate production begins. The PFAU process has prepared the government and the shipbuilder to begin full-scale production of the PSC class, resulting in more precise, cost-effective and reliable construction processes.  

 

The Coast Guard’s operational polar icebreaking fleet currently consists of one heavy icebreaker, the 399-foot Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star that was commissioned in 1976, and one medium icebreaker, the 420-foot Coast Guard Cutter Healy that was commissioned in 1999. The service recently acquired a commercially available polar icebreaker to provide additional presence and mission capability in the Arctic. 

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About Polar Security Cutter

Artist’s rendering of the USCG Polar Security Cutter PSC 
Artist’s rendering of the Polar Security Cutter meant to finally replace the four-decades old Polar Star heavy icebreaker. The USCG wants three PSCs in the heavy-Antarctic configuration. VT Halter image.
 

The Polar Security Cutter (PSC) is 460 feet-long (140m) with a beam of 88 feet (28m) for a full-load displacement of 23,200 tons. It is powered by diesel/electric engines. The PSC can accommodate 186 persons. It has a large flight deck to host helicopters such as the H53 King Stallion or Sikorsky H-60. The hull design is based on Polar 2 class icebreaker.

 

For the record, the U.S. Department of the Navy selected VT Halter Marine as the Prime Contractor for a US$745,940,860 (about S$1b) fixed-price incentive-firm contract in 2019 for the detail design and construction of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC). The PSC contract is a multi-year programme and a USCG major system acquisition to acquire up to three multimission PSCs to recapitalise the USCG fleet of heavy icebreakers and replace the four-decades old Polar Star heavy icebreaker.

 

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