
As the Arctic grows in importance for world shipping, the U.S. Coast Guard is expanding its fleet of icebreakers.
In late December, the Coast Guard acquired a vessel named the Aiviq, originally built in 2012 to service oil rigs in the Chukchi Sea. The service paid $125 million for the icebreaker, including delivery, modifications, and a fresh Coast-Guard-red paint job. Once modifications are complete, the 360-foot vessel will be commissioned as USCGC Storis, named after an earlier Coast Guard cutter that was affectionately nicknamed “the Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast.”
Storis will join the Coast Guard’s two currently serving icebreakers to open routes for shipping through the Arctic. The Coast Guard also has plans to build as many as five new icebreakers to enter service in coming years.
Storis is expected to enter service in early 2026 and will be homeported in Juneau.