The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard have issued a solicitation for a program to design and build up to three heavy polar icebreakers.
USCG said in a March 5 news release the Naval Sea Systems Command will hold a full-and-open competition for the detail design and construction of HPIBs and plans to award a single contract by fiscal 2019.
The Navy and USCG released the request for proposals after the Department of Homeland Security™s acquisition review board cleared the program to move into the œobtain phase on Feb. 21.
NAVSEA said in a FedBizOpps notice posted March 2 the RFP is intended for advance planning and engineering work on the three vessels.
Adm. Paul Zukunft, USCG commandant, said the solicitation for a new fleet of polar icebreakers seeks to advance the service branches™ national strategy efforts to keep pace with the rising commercial activities in the polar regions.
Questions related to the RFP are due May 11, according to the notice.