Larsen's Efforts to Rejuvenate Icebreaker Fleet Move Forward

Press Release

WASHINGTON--A key House committee today adopted language authored by Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, to move the Coast Guard closer to reactivating a heavy-duty icebreaker and continue planning for new icebreakers.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee adopted Larsen's amendments to the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014. The language will put pressure on the Coast Guard to begin reactivation of the Polar Sea icebreaker and provide funding for the Coast Guard to continue designing a new icebreaker fleet.

"The United States needs to move fast to catch up to other nations in the Arctic," Larsen said. "We are an Arctic nation, but our icebreaker fleet is too anemic to meet our responsibilities in the region. I am pleased the committee supported my efforts and look forward to working with my colleagues to strengthen our nation's icebreaker fleet."

A recent study ordered by Congress via language authored by Larsen and Sen. Maria Cantwell shows that the Coast Guard can reactivate the Polar Sea icebreaker for about $100 million, or a tenth of the cost of a new icebreaker. The Polar Sea is currently mothballed in a Seattle shipyard.

Larsen has championed the icebreaker program in the House of Representatives. He recently wrote in a Seattle Times op-ed: "It is not the story of the United States to sit idly by while other countries take advantage of new opportunities. That should not be the case in the Arctic. The administration and Congress need to rejuvenate our icebreaker fleet and show we are ready to live up to our status as an Arctic nation."

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