Arctic defense begins in Galveston after Memorial Day

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

As Texans celebrate Memorial Day weekend, 190 years of Texas independence and 250 years of American independence this year, they are also celebrating a new national defense initiative launching in Galveston on June 1.

Texas has been leading on border security efforts, which now includes Arctic defense. Gulf Copper will begin constructing Arctic Security Cutters (ASC), a new class of Arctic icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard, breaking ground next month on a new facility.

The project is the outworking of a partnership among U.S., Finnish and Canadian leaders to advance shipbuilding and Arctic defense through a trilateral initiative, the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact).

Davie Defense America, backed by Davie Shipbuilding in Canada and Helsinki Shipyard in Finland, is constructing the ASCs in Galveston and Port Arthur, The Center Square reported. Its parent company, Inocea Group, acquired the historic Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston and Port Arthur last December. Gulf Copper has been integral to shipbuilding in the Gulf for more than 75 years.

Last week, it finalized its $3.5 billion contract with the Coast Guard to construct and deliver five ASCs. Two will be constructed in Finland and three will be constructed in Galveston and Port Arthur. The first ASC is slated to be delivered in 2028.

The new ASCs will strengthen U.S. national defense “in one of the world’s most strategically important regions,” James Davies, co-founder of the Inocea Group, said in a statement. “The Arctic is increasingly strategic to global security and economic resilience, and these vessels will provide the U.S. Coast Guard with critical capability in a region where reliability and operational readiness are non-negotiable.”

Gulf Copper is already fabricating U.S. Navy Flight III Arleigh Burke class destroyer modules in Texas and is restoring Battleship Texas, the legendary WWII vessel that fired the first shots on D-Day and earned 11 battle stars.

Battleship Texas is being restored next to the Galveston Navy Museum, which is hosting Memorial Day celebrations in the historic naval port where Texas’ Navy was based. The museum is home to WWII vessels, including USS Cavalla, the submarine that sank one of the Japanese ships that attacked Pearl Harbor. It’s also home to USS Stewart, a destroyer built in Houston that sailed in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans protecting convoys transporting troops and commercial cargo.

“Arctic Security Cutters will form the backbone of a revitalized U.S. icebreaker fleet, strengthening American maritime dominance in the Arctic,” the Coast Guard explains. “Fielding specialized capabilities, these icebreakers will defend U.S. sovereignty, secure critical shipping lanes, protect energy and mineral resources, and counter foreign malign influence in the Arctic region. A robust icebreaker fleet will enable the Coast Guard to control, secure and defend U.S. Alaskan borders and Arctic maritime approaches, facilitate maritime commerce vital to economic prosperity and strategic mobility, and respond to crises and contingencies in the region.”

For the first time, under the Trump administration, the U.S. Coast Guard received an historic $25 billion to upgrade its fleet, The Center Square reported. This includes funding for up to 11 new ASCs. So far, the Coast Guard has acquired and commissioned Cutter Storis, the first polar icebreaker it’s acquired in 25 years.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who authored funding for the ASCs in the “Big Beautiful Bill,” said expanding shipbuilding in Texas “is a critical win for our state and U.S. maritime strength.” The project will create more than 7,000 high-skilled jobs in Texas and generate $9 billion worth of statewide economic impact, he said.

U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, a Republican whose district includes Galveston and Port Arthur, said the Gulf Copper project is “a game-changer for America’s national security. By bringing this work to Texas’ 14th District, we are taking a leading role in rebuilding our icebreaker fleet and strengthening America’s Arctic readiness. With billions in projected economic growth and thousands of jobs on the horizon, this is the start of a long-awaited era of American resurgence, one built here at home.”

The ICE Pact established an $8 million grant to develop an International Shipbuilding Fellowship, which funds U.S. workers traveling to Finnish shipyards to learn shipbuilding skills. It also allocated $1 billion to fund Davie acquiring and modernizing U.S. shipyard assets in Texas for domestic icebreaker production.