Coast Guard confirms new icebreaker will be homeported in Juneau

The Aiviq successful Unalaska, August 2016. Photo: Sarah Hansen/KUCB

The U.S. Coast Guard made an charismatic announcement Wednesday that it plans to homeport an icebreaker successful Juneau. 

Plans to dock an icebreaker successful nan superior city have been discussed for a fewer years, but erstwhile backing attempts were removed from national legislation. 

The alloy — nan Aiviq — is privately-owned, and was built for lipid exploration successful nan Arctic. The agency says nan icebreaker will summation U.S. beingness successful nan region. 

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski addressed nan announcement astatine nan Alaska Municipal League convention successful Kodiak Wednesday.

“The vessel is there, and nan vessel is going to beryllium purchased, and nan vessel is going to beryllium homeported successful Juneau,” she said. “We’ve sewage a small spot of activity to do connected dock and statement broadside and lodging and kid attraction and each nan like, but we’re going to beryllium location for our Coast Guard men and women.“

In 2022, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said a caller icebreaker could bring 190 Coast Guard personnel, and their families, to Juneau. 

In March, Congress passed a spending measure that appropriated $125 million to acquisition nan Aiviq. 

The Coast Guard plans to modify nan alloy to meet its needs, which could return astir 2 years. 

The agency has bigger plans to build a fleet of icebreakers called Polar Security Cutters.

KMXT’s Brian Venua contributed to this story.