The U.S. Coast Guard/U.S. Navy Integrated Program Office received approval Dec. 19 to begin to build the first polar security cutter, according to a news release from the Coast Guard.

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.

The decision continues work that has been underway since the summer of 2023.

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 release said. The PFAU process has prepared the government and the shipbuilder to begin full-scale production of the PSC class.

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. 

For more information on the PSC class: Polar Security Cutter Program page