The Coast Guard's Facilities Design and Construction Center (FDCC) awarded a contract on Aug. 27, 2025, to The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. for the first phase of work that will ultimately result in homeporting future polar security cutters (PSC) at Base Seattle in Seattle, Wash.
The initial contract, with a potential value of approximately $137 million, is for phase 1A activities of the Base Seattle modernization and homeporting program and includes dredging of Slip 36 and construction of two modernized major cutter berths fully capable of hosting PSCs.
Dredging is required to accommodate future PSC berthing and operations at the facility. The Coast Guard will remove and dispose of contaminated sediment as required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and in accordance with an Environmental Protection Agency order. This project represents the largest CERCLA action and removal of hazardous substances in the history of the Coast Guard.
The phase 1A contract also includes widening of the slip between berths 36B and 37B, upgrading berths 37A and 37B with modernized utilities capable of hosting two new PSCs, demolishing an existing building and stabilizing the waterfront at Berth 36B and recapitalizing Station Seattle's small boat docks and boathouse.
The Coast Guard plans to award future contracts for phases 1B and 1C to further modernize facilities and deliver four major cutter berths to support the service's growing fleet at Base Seattle.
This work at Base Seattle is critical to supporting future operations to establish U.S. maritime dominance, conduct Coast Guard missions in the high latitudes and advance national security interests, including in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes a historic investment in the Coast Guard's polar icebreaking fleet by providing $4.3 billion to continue construction of the PSC fleet.
The FDCC is a field command under the Coast Guard Program Executive Office Shore (CG-SHORE), dedicated to delivering new shore facilities construction and major recapitalization projects. The FDCC is responsible for all phases of project execution, including planning, design, procurement contracts, construction and facility commissioning.
As part of the Force Design 2028 initiative, the FDCC and the Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center were incorporated into the new CG-SHORE domain, one of five program executive offices established under the Systems Integration Directorate to implement a fully integrated, systems-based approach to asset life cycle management.
