Just minutes into her 2023 State of the Coast Guard address, Adm. Linda Fagan, Commandant of the Coast Guard, voiced her support of getting a new heavy ice breaker onto the Great Lakes.
"I am fully committed to fielding critical Great Lakes ice breaking capability," said Fagan. "That flow [of shipping vessels] must continue even during the harsh winter ice season."
Fagan was referring to the 160 million tons of cargo and nearly 1,000 vessel transits that move across the Great Lakes every winter by the private shipping industry with the help of the Coast Guard.
Adm. Fagan's statement was backed up by asking for $75 million in President Biden’s proposed 2024 budget to begin the process of getting that new ice breaker on the Great Lakes.
The National Defense Authorization Act, which passed into law in late 2022, calls for an ice breaker as capable as the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw.
Shortly after passing, the Coast Guard said it was going to take at least a decade before the vessel would get in the water. They cited regulatory hurdles and the complexity of construction as the reasoning for the timeline
While the $75 million they’re asking for in 2024 appropriations is a fraction of the $350 million that has been authorized, if approved by Congress, these funds would potentially speed up the timeline and get construction started.
"They can start buying steel, they can start doing requests for proposals from contracts, from shipyards," said Eric Peace, Vice President of the Lake Carriers' Association and former Coast Guard officer and Division Chief for the Mobility and Ice Operations Division in Washington DC. "This kind of money comes in what they call their procurement construction account, which means that they can start using this money for actual construction funds."
The Lake Carriers' Association has been one of the Coast Guard's toughest critics when it comes to ice breaking operations in the Great Lakes. They argue the fleet of 9 ice breakers on the Great Lakes is aging and inadequate to keep commerce moving during the ice season and has cost their members millions of dollars in delayed shipments caused by poor ice breaking operations.
Getting the new ice breaker onto the Great Lakes has received strong bi-partisan support from the Senate and House Great Lakes Task Force. Senator Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, told WCMU he's pleased with the President's budget to advance funding for the project.
"I’ll continue to support this economic engine in Michigan and push to secure federal resources that advance the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes," said Peters in an emailed statement to WCMU. “Icebreakers play a critical role in supporting our economy and jobs by allowing goods and materials to easily move throughout the Great Lakes year-round."
The President’s budget is vulnerable to change until it goes through the Congressional appropriations process and passed by both chambers. It's unclear when that process will begin.
“A new icebreaker is vital to the future of shipping on the Great Lakes," said Congressman John Moolenaar, R-Caledonia, in an emailed statement to WCMU. "I will be working on the House Appropriations Committee to get funding for the construction of a new icebreaker and help move this important project forward.”
$55 million of the Coast Guard's request comes directly from their proposed budget, while the remaining $20 million is included in their unfunded priorities proposal.
