The U.S. Coast Guard has selected Seattle, Wash. as the homeport for its new Polar Security Cutters due to “operational and logistical needsâ€, Navy Times reported Tuesday.
“The Pacific Northwest has been the home of our icebreaking fleet since 1976, and I am confident that the Seattle area will continue to provide the support we need to carry out our critical operations in the polar regions,†said Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the Coast Guard, in a statement to the publication.
In April, ST Engineering subsidiary VT Systems won a potential $1.94 billion contract to build a maximum of three heavy icebreakers to support USCG’s law enforcement, search and rescue, environmental response and national security missions in the polar regions. The U.S. Navy expects VT Systems to begin constructing the first of the cutters in 2021 and deliver the ship by 2024.
