Posted on June 3, 2026
By Sara Samora
The upcoming factory is part of Davie’s $3.5 billion contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to build and deliver five polar icebreaker vessels called Arctic Security Cutters, which was finalized on May 13.
Two of the ships will be built at Davie’s affiliate Helsinki Shipyard in Finland, according to the company’s May press release. The remaining three ships will be constructed at Davie’s Gulf Copper facilities in Galveston and Port Arthur. The first ship delivery is expected in 2028 and the contract runs through February 2035.
The award was funded through the agency’s $25 billion fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation, as part of the Coast Guard’s commitment to improve acquisition and launch new technologies to revamp U.S. shipbuilding, the Department of Homeland Security stated in the press release.
Furthermore, the deal supports the Coast Guard’s modernization under its Force Design 2028 strategy, which aims to strengthen the agency’s operations and fighting capabilities, according to a December 2025 press release.
Davie’s contract is one of 11 that the Coast Guard has awarded to acquire ASCs, which will be used to secure critical shipping lanes and protect energy and mineral resources in the Arctic region. With an icebreaker fleet, the Coast Guard would be able to control and secure the “Alaskan borders and Arctic maritime approaches, facilitate maritime commerce vital to economic prosperity and strategic mobility, and respond to crises and contingencies in the region,” per the agency’s press release.
The contract also falls under President Donald Trump’s October 2025 memorandum to build up to four ASC vessels to “address urgent national security needs in the Arctic region.” Currently, the Coast Guard only has two ASCs in commission, Trump stated in a fact sheet.
Additionally, the memo issued a temporary measure for foreign-made ASCs, allowing Finland to supply the icebreaker vessels while U.S. officials work to spur domestic shipbuilding investments.
The project also supports Trump’s executive order to rebuild the domestic maritime industries and workforce.
The shipyard modernization project builds on Davie’s commitment under the Biden administration to participate in the U.S. government’s trilateral shipbuilding agreement with Finland and Canada. Dubbed the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or “ICE Pact,” the deal aims to foster collaboration to produce vessels more efficiently and cost effectively for domestic and export markets, according to a press release.
