Photo of a model of Halter Marine’s Polar Security Cutter seen at Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exhibition have surfaced. Photo credit Chris Cavas.
“The commandant of the Coast Guard dashed hopes Jan. 12 that a much needed new icebreaker will be delivered any sooner than 2025.”
The projected delivery has already slipped a year to May 2025, but the Commandant’s remarks did not sound confident that there will be no further delays.
“The goal right now would be to continue to work with the Navy integrated project office, continue to work with the shipbuilder, finish up the complex detail design [work] and start cutting steel here in ’22,” Schultz said. “If we stay on that track line … I am guardedly optimistic we will take delivery of that ship in ‘25 and be off to the races.”
We are putting a lot on the crew of Polar Sea. They have been having extended yard periods away from home port every year. So far, they have met repeated challenges to keep the old girl running, but we cannot really expect our luck to hold.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
When EAGLE was undergoing her five-year modernization her homeport was changed to Baltimore so that the crew could move their families there.
Since POLAR SEA is going to get all the work done at Mare Island her homeport should be changed.
I’ve been saying the same thing. It seems like an unnecessary hardship to me.
and Vallejo is not a high cost area, compared to Seattle.
The Finns have a somewhat different idea about icebreaker delivery schedules:
https://akerarctic.fi/en/news/new-icebreaker-for-norilsk-nickel/
Granted, the construction was awarded already few months ago even though the project was not publicized until today, but delivery by the end of 2024 is still quite an ambitious target for a heavy icebreaker that is similar in size to the PSC. While it’s built to civilian spec and thus is somewhat less complex than a USCG cutter in general, it also has many similarities. If I understood a tweet correctly, it’ll have the same “hybrid” propulsion system as the PSC: two pods and a shaftline in the middle. The Russian ice class is also roughly equivalent to PSC’s Polar Class 2 and the ship is reportedly designed for about 2 m (6½ ft) thick ice.