A week after the ice breaker Aiviq arrived at Tampa Ship LLC in Florida, the vessel had been fully repainted in US Coast Guard icebreaker red. The transom at the stern indicates its new name: Storis.
This name holds historical significance for the Coast Guard, as the original USCGC Storis served for over 64 years before decommissioning in 2007, making it the oldest vessel in the fleet at that time.
During World War II, the cutter patrolled Arctic waters around Greenland to intercept German weather stations and escorted supply convoys near Newfoundland. Post-war, the vessel was based in Kodiak, Alaska, conducting Bering Strait patrols and collecting early hydrographic data of the Arctic Ocean.
The new Storis will join the USCG’s fleet as a medium icebreaker following an 18-month conversion, enhancing US presence in the Arctic amid rising geopolitical and economic activity. A joint Russian-Chinese patrol recently passed near Alaska for the first time this summer. The vessel will be homeported in Juneau, Alaska, and is expected to be mission-ready by spring 2026.
Storis carried hull number 21, following the medium icebreaker Healy’s sequence, designated WAGB-20. The WAGB classification is used for the Coast Guard’s Arctic & Great Lakes Icebreakers. In contrast, the upcoming Polar Security Cutters will carry the WMSP designation, indicating a more security and defence-oriented role.
The USCG acquired Aiviq in December 2024 in a $125 million deal with Offshore Surface Vessels LLC, part of Edison Chouest Offshore. The idea to purchase a commercially available icebreaker to address a gap in US icebreaking capabilities was first proposed in 2015, with Congress allocating funds earlier this year.
