Arctic Control

[People’s Daily News]Donald. President Donald Trump’s massive tax cuts and spending bill (the “Big and US Act”) allocates more than $8.6 billion to expand the size of the U.S. Coast Guard‘s icebreaker fleet in the Arctic, hoping to counter Russia and the Chinese Communist Party’s growing dominance in the Arctic.
At least 6 icebreakers can be builtAccording to VOA, the funding includes $4.3 billion to purchase up to three new heavy Coast Guard polar security patrol boats. The first new generation of heavy icebreakers started construction in April this year at the Mississippi-based Bollinger Shipyard. According to assessments by U.S. Maritime News website gcaptain.com, the additional grant will fill the funding gap, allowing construction of at least three heavy patrol ships. $3.5 billion is spent on the purchase of medium-sized Arctic security patrol boats. The U.S. Coast Guard recently released an information consultation book that outlines the ship’s size, performance, endurance and other details. gcaptain said the funding should be sufficient to meet the construction needs of at least three ships of the same type. Whether the funds are sufficient depends in part on whether the ships are built in the United States or in cooperation with foreign shipyards, and may be less expensive to build. In addition, $816 million is used to purchase more light and medium icebreaking patrol ships. These icebreakers will reportedly use reinforced hulls and special angle bows, designed specifically for breaking ice in open waters. , the largest of which is designed to break through the 20-foot thick ice layer. It also allocated $300 million to upgrade infrastructure related to the newly acquired Storis icebreaker homeport in Juneau, Alaska.
Members of Congress and Coast Guard supportThe U.S. Coast Guard has been looking for funds since the early 2010s to build eight to nine icebreakers that can be used in the Arctic. Currently, there are only three ships in the Coast Guard fleet. At a hearing of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee in June, Acting Commander of the Coast Guard and Admiral Kevin. “The polar icebreaker project is our highest procurement priority,” said Kevin Lunday. Trump’s grant was warmly welcomed by some lawmakers. Alaska Republican Senator Lisa. Lisa Murkowski issued a statement after voting for the bill on Tuesday (July 1), saying it was “a historic investment and modernization of the Coast Guard.” Dan, a Republican Senator from Alaska and chairman of the Coast Guard subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. “The bill is the biggest investment in the Coast Guard in U.S. history,” said Dan Sullivan. Some members of the U.S. Congress have been worried that the U.S. lags behind China and Russia in the Arctic. In recent years, the CCP and Russia have conducted joint maritime military exercises, joint coast guard cruises and air exercises of strategic bombers in the Arctic have attracted great attention from the United States. △