The Storis, in particular, is a welcome addition. The U.S. Navy lacks icebreaking capacity, leaving this function to the Coast Guard, which currently operates only one heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, homeported in Seattle but regularly engaged in icebreaking operations in the Antarctic. Prior to the commissioning of the Storis, the Coast Guard had only one medium icebreaker, the Healy, available for Arctic operations.

The Coast Guard, in a 2023 report, estimated it needs eight or nine polar icebreakers to carry out its role in the Arctic, including four or five heavy and an equal number of medium icebreakers. With China and Russia both becoming increasingly active in the Arctic - and with Russia in particular holding half of the Arctic Ocean coastline - the Coast Guard's role in the north will only become more critical.

At the commissioning of the Solis, Alaska's Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said:

“I think Singapore has more icebreaking capacity than we do,” Sullivan said. “That has left us far behind our adversaries. Russia has more than 50 operational icebreakers, many nuclear-powered, many weaponized. China, which has no Arctic territory, is building a polar fleet and is spending a lot of time off our shores, including this summer.”

The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law by President Trump this summer, includes around $9 billion in funding for new icebreaking ships.