Coast Guard Academy The Nice Breakers: First Class Cadets Ross Garrett, Hannah Eshleman, Bayley Olds and Joe Sagan pose for a photo with their capstone icebreaker.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Lauren Laughlin
The Coast Guard has a need for an icebreaker of moderate capability and size, such that it can transit through the St. Lawrence Seaway, perform Coast Guard missions, as well as provide a platform for scientific research. The Coast Guard Arctic Strategy vows to make a strategic commitment to icebreaking capability for access to the Arctic over the long-term, as well as to improve science and technology capabilities of the Coast Guard on these vessels. In order to provide a solution, The Nice Breaker design group sought to develop a scientific-capable medium icebreaker (SMIB) for the Coast Guard.