Posted on December 21, 2025
USCGC Mackinaw – safeguarding the Great Lakes year-round.
The United States Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Mackinaw serves as an icebreaker in the Great Lakes, also known as the Great Lakes Icebreaker (GLIB).
Vard Marine Inc contributed to the vessel’s basic design in collaboration with Marinette Marine (now Fincantieri Marinette Marine), ensuring a reliable platform for ice operations and maritime safety.
Delivered in 2005, Mackinaw continues to support navigation, commerce, and safety across one of North America’s most challenging inland waterways.
As part of FINCANTIERI, VARD is backed by one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, which has played a major role in designing and building icebreakers and ice-classed vessels over the past 25 years.
Explore how we are shaping the future of icebreakers: https://lnkd.in/d-X8V2fi
Photo credit: US Coast Guard.
