The U.S. Coast Guard awarded five firm fixed price contracts for heavy polar icebreaker design studies and analysis 22 February 2017.  The studies will inform the Coast Guard's acquisition of heavy polar icebreakers to replace the current operational fleet that includes one heavy polar icebreaker, USCGC POLAR STAR (foreground, shown cutting a channel in the Ross Sea as part of Operation Deep Freeze 2017).  U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer David Mosley.
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