The U.S. Coast Guard is asking industry for options to buy or build another off-the-shelf icebreaker design similar in size to the Aiviq (USCGC Storis) or Canada's Harry DeWolf-class.
On April 11, the Coast Guard published a request for information (RFI) seeking "existing vessels or production ready vessel designs" for a small icebreaker class with specific requirements:
- At most 360 feet in length, 78-foot beam and 23 feet of draft
- Icebreaking capability of three feet thick at three knots
- Range of 6,500 nautical miles
- Endurance of 60 days
- Flight deck and hangar for one helicopter
The type of vessel sought appears to align well with Canada's Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), or Harry DeWolf-class, which meets all of these specifications. A vessel of this class would be smaller and less capable than the Coast Guard's medium icebreaker, USCGC Healy, or the service's long-delayed Polar Security Cutter (PSC).
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