Coast Guard gets $30M to overhaul icebreaker

[unhappycamper]

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 11) Polar icebreaker in drydock in Seattle, Wa.


Coast Guard gets $30M to overhaul icebreaker
By Amy McCullough - Staff writier
Posted : Friday Oct 17, 2008 6:27:06 EDT

The Coast Guard is one step closer to having all three of its Polar icebreakers in operational status for the first time since 2006, but the service may not have enough money to bring one of the aging cutters out of drydock.

The 32-year-old Seattle-based Polar Star is the Coast Guard’s oldest heavy icebreaking cutter and has been laid up since July 1, 2006.

Coast Guard officials could not say for certain if the $30.3 million included in the fiscal 2009 Homeland Security Department budget would be enough to get the aging cutter back into operational status.

But in July, Commandant Adm. Thad Allen told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee it would take 12 to 18 months’ lead time and an estimated $60 million for a “significant overhaul” of the Polar Star, which had an expected 30-year lifecycle.

A recently updated report from the Congressional Research Service said it would cost between $800 million and $925 million for a new icebreaker, roughly $400 million per ship to keep the Polar Sea and Polar Star operational for another 25 years, or $56.6 million to provide the proper maintenance and repair work to reactivate the Polar Star and extend its service life by seven to 10 years.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/cg_polarstar_101608w/%2e

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. HEY, I have an idea.

let's pay a connected company to slice the boats in half, add 20 feet to their length, put them back together so badly that they become unseaworthy! Wouldn't that be a great idea?