U.S. Coast Guard Closes In on Purchase of Icebreaker Aiviq
The U.S. Coast Guard is closing in on the purchase of the privately-owned icebreaker Aiviq, and has formally confirmed that the vessel will be homeported in Juneau.
Aiviq was built in 2012 as an icebreaking anchor-handler, and she initially supported Shell's Arctic offshore drilling program. During a tow in Gulf of Alaska weather conditions in December 2012, she encountered seas of 20-30 feet and lost power in all engines due to water in fuel contamination. An after-accident inquiry found that this was likely caused by immersion of the low-freeboard stern and seawater infiltration through tank vents. Her tow, a unique ice-class drill rig, ran aground and was ultimately scrapped, and Shell suspended its Arctic drilling ambitions.
Aiviq was little-used for many years after the casualty, but has more recently operated as a charter vessel for Antarctic research. The owner has been open to leasing or selling the vessel to a government user since at least 2016, but the U.S. Coast Guard initially resisted, citing concerns over Aiviq's commercial design. Seven years later, facing rising maintenance challenges aboard its two active icebreakers, the Coast Guard received $125 million from Congress to buy the Aiviq as an interim solution.
After an 18-month period of vessel modifications, the Coast Guard plans to use Aiviq as a medium icebreaker for government service in Alaska and the far north. The vessel will take pressure off medium icebreaker USCGC Healy - which recently suffered a shipboard fire - and will fill in until the long-delayed delivery of the Coast Guard's new heavy icebreaker series, the Polar Security Cutters.
“As we continue to build the Polar Security Cutters, acquiring a commercially available polar icebreaker will enable the Coast Guard to increase our national presence in the Arctic, and homeporting this cutter in Alaska demonstrates the service’s steadfast commitment to the region," said Adm. Kevin Lunday, Coast Guard vice commandant.
The Aiviq's new homeport assignment will bring jobs and development to Juneau. The Coast Guard will bring in about 190 crewmembers for the vessel, and provisioning and maintenance will create economic activity. The service has already acquired a 2.4 acre plot of waterfront land from NOAA, and is expected to spend millions of dollars on building a homeport pier complex, with support from Alaska's congressional delegation.