The U.S. Coast Guard plans to develop specific measures for its Arctic region activities in an effort to systematically assess potential effects of its operations on the mitigation of operation capacity gaps in support of a Government Accountability Office recommendation.
GAO said Tuesday the service branch has worked with Arctic partners to assess and mitigate gaps in its training, communications and other operations capacities.
The Coast Guard will also work to mitigate a possible three- to six-year heavy icebreaker capacity gap as the agency’s lone active ice breaker Polar Star nears the end of its service life, GAO said.
GAO added the Coast Guard is seeking a new acquisition strategy to lease or purchase a new polar ice breaker unit and handle procurement issues on legal and operational requirements.
The service branch will also develop a strategy to upgrade its current fleet of two “aging” icebreakers to help fulfill its polar icebreaking responsibilities.
