A US congresswoman has urged the Congress to fund the icebreaker building program for the country's Coast Guard fleet to meet the increased Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic.
“I spoke with the Coast Guard at a subcommittee meeting last week to emphasize the need for Congress to fund icebreakers in Alaska,” said Mary Peltola, US Congresswoman for Alaska, as cited by High North News.
US fleet of icebreakers consists of two aging ships - USCG Healy and USCG Polar Star. Both have repeatedly suffered mechanical failures, leaving them unavailable for extended periods of time.
The country's icebreaker program is far behind the original timeline, the media reports, and the first vessel will not be ready until the middle of 2028. The second icebreaker will likely not enter service before the next decade.
Russia currently runs at least three dozen national icebreakers, some of them nuclear, while China has increased its icebreaker fleet to four while not having any territory in the Arctic.
“The Arctic is going to be critical to the international power balance. China and Russia are preparing for it - why aren’t we?”, Peltola asks.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
