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GAO-17-698R 1 (2017-09-25)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaaleb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A O U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 September 25, 2017 The Honorable John Thune Chairman The Honorable Bill Nelson Ranking Member Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate The Honorable Bill Shuster Chairman The Honorable Peter DeFazio Ranking Member Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure House of Representatives Coast Guard: Status of Polar Icebreaking Fleet Capability and Recapitalization Plan The Coast Guard is responsible for providing polar icebreaking capability for the United States and operates two polar icebreakers: a heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, that is nearing the end of its expected service life, and the Healy, a medium icebreaker.1 To maintain polar icebreaking capability to access the Arctic and Antarctic (i.e. the Polar Regions), the Coast Guard is seeking to recapitalize its polar icebreaking fleet through the acquisition of three new heavy polar icebreakers. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 included a provision for us to review various issues associated with U.S. polar icebreaking capabilities and the status of the Coast Guard's efforts to recapitalize its polar icebreaking fleet.2 This report formally transmits information we provided to the committees on June 23, 2017 to meet our reporting requirement (see enclosure 1: Status of the Coast Guard's Polar Icebreaking Fleet Capability and Recapitalization Plan, Information Presented to Congressional Committees). It discusses: (1) the extent to which the Coast Guard's existing polar icebreaking capabilities address key mission requirements; (2) the status of the Coast Guard's efforts to recapitalize its heavy polar icebreaking fleet, and how it has addressed challenges it has identified in implementing the effort; and (3) the potential heavy polar icebreaking capability gap, if any, that the Coast Guard has identified and the plans of the Coast Guard, and other federal agencies that depend on its heavy polar icebreaking capability, to address it. 1The Polar Star has greater icebreaking capability than the Healy. According to the Coast Guard, the Polar Star can provide year-round access to both the Antarctic and Arctic, but is normally deployed to the Antarctic during the Austral summer, when the Antarctic ice is at its minimum. The Healy cannot access the Antarctic year-round or some Arctic areas in winter. An additional Coast Guard heavy polar icebreaker, the Polar Sea, has been inactive since experiencing a major engine casualty in June 2010. See enclosure 1 for more information on the status of the current Coast Guard polar icebreaking fleet. 2pub. L. No. 114-328, § 3524, 130 Stat. 2000, 2794 (2016). GAO-1 7-698R Coast Guard Polar Icebreaking Page 1

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