The U.S. Coast Guard made an official announcement Wednesday that it plans to homeport an icebreaker in Juneau.
Plans to dock an icebreaker in the capital city have been discussed for a few years, but previous funding attempts were removed from federal legislation.
The vessel — the Aiviq — is privately-owned, and was built for oil exploration in the Arctic. The agency says the icebreaker will increase U.S. presence in the region.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski addressed the announcement at the Alaska Municipal League conference in Kodiak Wednesday.
“The ship is there, and the ship is going to be purchased, and the ship is going to be homeported in Juneau,” she said. “We’ve got a little bit of work to do on dock and shore side and housing and child care and all the like, but we’re going to be there for our Coast Guard men and women.“
In 2022, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said a new icebreaker could bring 190 Coast Guard personnel, and their families, to Juneau.
In March, Congress passed a spending bill that appropriated $125 million to purchase the Aiviq.
The Coast Guard plans to modify the vessel to meet its needs, which could take about two years.
The agency has bigger plans to build a fleet of icebreakers called Polar Security Cutters.
KMXT’s Brian Venua contributed to this story.
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