HOUMA, La. —  Bollinger Shipyards (“Bollinger”) this week welcomed Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Kevin Lunday, and senior Coast Guard and Administration officials to its Houma and LaShip facilities for a firsthand look at progress on the Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) program.

During the visit, Bollinger leadership provided updates on construction readiness, workforce development and infrastructure investments supporting the Coast Guard’s next generation fleet of medium polar icebreakers. The visit comes as Bollinger continues to advance early production work on the program, building on initial steel-cutting and planning activities that began ahead of the contract award and positioning the company to support an accelerated delivery timeline for the Coast Guard. 

“The Arctic Security Cutter program represents one of the most important investments in America’s maritime and national security future,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “We were honored to welcome Director Vought, Admiral Lunday and members of the Administration and Coast Guard leadership team to Houma to see firsthand the progress our workforce is making. Their visit demonstrates the importance of this program and the shared commitment to strengthening America’s presence in the Arctic while revitalizing the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.”

The Arctic Security Cutter program is a key component of the Coast Guard’s effort to recapitalize its icebreaking fleet and ensure persistent U.S. presence in the Arctic. Bollinger was selected to construct the first tranche of Arctic Security Cutters under a contract valued at approximately $2.2 billion, laying the foundation for a fleet of up to eleven vessels under the trilateral ICE Pact framework. Together with the Polar Security Cutter program, ASC will provide the Coast Guard with a modern, layered icebreaking capability designed to protect U.S. sovereignty, support economic interests and counter emerging threats across the polar regions.

The program remains on track to deliver on budget and on schedule, supported by Bollinger’s integrated shipbuilding network of more than 4,000 skilled employees across the Gulf Coast and reflecting the company’s focus on disciplined execution as schedule continues to drive every phase of the Arctic Security Cutter effort. The program draws on Bollinger’s more than 80 years of shipbuilding experience and longstanding partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard. Bollinger is one of the Coast Guard’s most experienced shipbuilding partners, having delivered more than 300 vessels to the federal government and multiple classes of CoastGuard cutters over more than 40 years. For ASC, Bollinger is pairing that proven Coast Guard shipbuilding expertise with a mature icebreaker design developed by Seaspan and Aker Arctic, as well as the experience of Canadian and Finnish partners with decades of Arctic shipbuilding experience.

About the Arctic Security Cutter Program

The Arctic Security Cutter is a new class of medium polar icebreakers designed to conduct missions of the U.S. Coast Guard in some of the world’s most challenging maritime environments. The vessels will provide enhanced icebreaking capability, operational endurance and mission flexibility, enabling the Coast Guard to protect U.S. interests, maintain a persistent presence and respond to emerging challenges throughout the Arctic region.

From Bollinger Shipyards, Oct. 8, 2026