By
Paul McLeary on December 17, 2020 at 12:48 PM
A Canadian Coast Guard vessel rendezvous with US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy (foreground) in the Arctic.
WASHINGTON: The defense policy bill sitting on President Trump’s desk would fund new icebreakers the Coast Guard desperately needs, and give Arctic strategy a bigger seat at the decision-making table at the Pentagon.
The 2021 NDAA, passed by the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities last week, authorizes money for six icebreakers, three more than originally planned, which would replace the two currently in service one of which is languishing in port after a devastating fire in August left it in need of a new engine.