The US Coast Guard has issued a request for proposals to build up to seven Homeland Security Cutter-Light (HSC-L) icebreakers, launching a major effort to replace its aging fleet of light icebreaking tugs that have served for more than six decades.
The solicitation covers the design, construction, testing, and delivery of the vessels under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.
Initial bids are due by mid-July, with the competition split into two evaluation phases.
According to the force, the planned HSC-Ls will replace its existing 65-foot (20-meter) light icebreaking tugs, commissioned between 1961 and 1967, while also taking over aids-to-navigation missions currently performed by buoy utility boats.
The dual-role fleet will keep smaller ports and harbors open year-round, operate in varying ice conditions, and restore damaged navigation aids after storms or marine accidents.
The vessels will also support the service’s broader effort to modernize its domestic icebreaking fleet, which supports commercial traffic on the Great Lakes as well as the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coasts.
Expanding Fleet
The HSC-L acquisition complements other planned fleet upgrades, including 11 HSC-Medium icebreakers to replace Bay-class vessels and one additional heavy icebreaker to strengthen operations on the Great Lakes alongside the sole large-type HSC, the USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB 30).
It also follows recent fleet expansion efforts, including the delivery of the 63rd Fast Response Cutter, the USCGC Jeffrey Palazzo (WPC 1163), and the commissioning of USCGC Storis (WAGB 21), the service’s first newly acquired icebreaker in more than 25 years under Washington’s separate Polar Security Cutter program.
