Coast Guard to station three icebreakers in Kodiak, Seward by 2028

The Coast Guard announced Saturday that a fourth icebreaker will be homeported in Alaska, with two Arctic Security Cutters to be stationed in Kodiak and a third in Seward once supporting infrastructure is ready. The first new icebreaker is expected to arrive in 2028.

The announcement follows two Arctic Security Cutters announced in April and the Coast Guard Cutter Storis, a retrofitted commercially available icebreaker commissioned in Juneau on August 10, 2025. Alaska's congressional delegation secured $3.5 billion for three Arctic Security Cutters through the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

The delegation also secured over $3 billion for shoreside infrastructure to support the homeporting of these assets, including $300 million for the homeporting of the Storis in Juneau, and $816 million for more than ten new light and medium domestic icebreaking cutters.

Admiral Kevin Lunday, Coast Guard commandant, testified on January 29, 2026, that the agency was considering homeporting up to four of eleven Arctic Security Cutters announced as part of the U.S.-Finland Icebreaker Agreement and the ICE Pact in Alaska. The Coast Guard describes the Arctic Security Cutter program as the most significant U.S. investment in icebreaker technology in decades.

Seward's assignment is contingent on infrastructure readiness. The Coast Guard said critical infrastructure and housing will need to be advanced in both Kodiak and Seward to support the trained crews who will operate the new cutters.

Coast Guard Base Kodiak is the largest Coast Guard base in the Pacific area and already serves as a logistics hub for Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea missions. The base will undergo infrastructure and housing improvements to support the new cutters and their crews.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the vessels will enable the Coast Guard to support missions across the North Pacific and Arctic, strengthening national security and emergency response. She added that significant work remains ahead at every level to build the shoreside infrastructure needed to support the growing icebreaking fleet.

Beyond icebreakers, the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act included $1 billion for approximately 10 Fast Response Cutters, $4.3 billion for approximately nine Offshore Patrol Cutters, $2.2 billion for approximately 40 MH-60 helicopters, and $1.1 billion for approximately six HC-130 aircraft.

The new icebreakers are being built in Finland and the United States.