Coast Guard to station three icebreakers in Kodiak, Seward

The Coast Guard will homeport two Arctic Security Cutters in Kodiak and a third in Seward once shoreside infrastructure is built, the service announced Wednesday.

The announcement adds a fourth Alaska-based icebreaker to the fleet. The Coast Guard announced two Arctic Security Cutters for Alaska in April. The Coast Guard Cutter Storis, a retrofitted commercially available icebreaker, was commissioned in Juneau on August 10, 2025.

Delivery of the first Arctic Security Cutter is expected in 2028. The Alaska congressional delegation credits funding and authorization they secured in the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act for making the vessels and support infrastructure possible.

"The Alaska Comeback continues with a fourth icebreaker announced for the great state of Alaska," said Sen. Dan Sullivan, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries. "For decades, America languished behind our main adversaries in the Arctic, with just two icebreakers, one of which is broken. Now, thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, not only are we building brand-new icebreakers, but we're homeporting four where the ice is: Alaska."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the homeporting decision translates into "real investments, real assets, and real opportunities for our state." She added that the vessels will enable the Coast Guard to support missions across the North Pacific and Arctic while bringing new housing investment, construction jobs, and Coast Guard families to the communities.

Rep. Nick Begich said homeporting the icebreakers in Seward and Kodiak "puts them exactly where they belong, closest to the mission and ready to project American strength across the Arctic at a time when our adversaries are racing to expand their own presence."

On January 29, 2026, Admiral Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, testified to Sen. Sullivan that the agency was considering homeporting in Alaska up to four of the eleven Arctic Security Cutters announced as part of the U.S.–Finland Icebreaker Agreement and the ICE Pact.

The homeporting is expected to bring additional Coast Guard personnel and their families to both communities, increasing demand for housing, schools, and services. Coast Guard Base Kodiak is already one of the largest Coast Guard bases in the United States and serves as a major employer on Kodiak Island.

Seward's port is an ice-free deep-water harbor that hosts freight, fishing, and cruise operations. The Coast Guard has not announced a timeline for completing the infrastructure required to support the Seward-based cutter.