The US Coast Guard has completed the award of contracts for the construction of a new class of 11 medium icebreakers.
The coast guard said the contract awarded on Wednesday, February 11, will build on previous awards announced on December 29, 2025, and will deliver 11 Arctic security cutters (ASCs), which will form the backbone of a modern US icebreaker fleet.
Davie Defense will construct two ASCs at Helsinki Shipyard in Finland and three domestically. A multi-purpose icebreaker (MPI) design developed jointly by Canada's Seaspan Shipyards and Finland's Aker Arctic has been selected to serve as the basis for the ASCs.
Bollinger Shipyards, which has been contracted to build four ASCs, said earlier that the MPI is the optimal design to meet US Coast Guard requirements as it exceeds all ASC requirements and supports all eleven of the vessels' statutory missions.
Delivery of the first ASC is expected in early 2028. The ASCs will serve as medium-displacement vessels to complement the coast guard's polar security cutters (PSCs).
The ASCs will be used primarily for Arctic operations while the heavier PSCs will be capable of both Arctic and Antarctic operations.
