Posted on November 19, 2025
WASHINGTON — Building on an initiative that began during the Biden administration, the United States, Canada and Finland have strengthened their shared commitment to increase the building of icebreaker ships.
Representatives of the three countries met in Washington on Tuesday to sign a joint statement of their intention to leverage one another’s expertise and counter Chinese and Russian influence in the strategically important shipbuilding industry.
“Today is a major milestone in the race to secure the Arctic for all of our countries,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at an event hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard, where she was joined by Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, and Finland’s minister of economic affairs, Sakari Puisto.
Noem said the agreement marked “a monumental step forward to protect the Arctic against our enemies, bringing good jobs to our American shores in the process and also strengthening our commitment to our alliances and the region.”
As part of a memorandum of understanding that was signed last year, the three countries agreed to increase information sharing on polar icebreaker production, allow workforce training in shipyards across all three countries and encourage allies to purchase polar icebreakers from Finnish, U.S. and Canadian shipyards instead of China or Russia.
By collaborating on industrial policy, senior Biden administration officials said at the time that the United States would increase its competitive edge while combatting Russian aggression and limiting China’s ability to gain influence. As part of the MOU, Finnish and Canadian companies agreed to invest in American shipyards and train American workers to help make icebreakers more quickly.
On Tuesday, Hillman described the trilateral partnership as “a critical component of ensuring security and sovereignty in the Arctic.”
Canada, she said, will not only help design, build and market Arctic icebreakers but help train U.S. workers to build them.
In September, the Canadian shipbuilder, Davie, announced it would invest $1 billion in the Gulf Copper shipyard in Texas to build icebreakers.
According to a White House fact sheet, the United States currently has two icebreakers — a type of purpose-built ship that can push through thick ice on frozen waterways, clearing the way for shipping. About nine are needed, the fact sheet said, citing “adversaries’ aggressive military and economic actions in the Arctic” that are jeopardizing U.S. shipping lanes and energy resources.
In October, President Donald Trump signed a memo authorizing the construction of four Arctic security cutters in Finland for U.S. Coast Guard use, saying it was a national security necessity. The memo called for leveraging Finnish expertise to construct up to seven new Arctic security cutters in U.S. shipyards.
“When we talk about breaking ice, we are not just talking about mechanics. We are talking about national competence for Finland,” Puisto said at Tuesday’s statement signing. “Navigating ice is not merely a technical feat. It is our heritage ingrained in our culture for more than a century. It began as a requirement for survival and trade. If our ports froze, our economy froze. Finnish innovation sets the global standard for ice-breaking technology.”
Finland, he said, pioneered multiple icebreaker technologies that are now used worldwide, including special paints, maritime propulsion systems that allow ships to rotate 360 degrees and the ability to operate reliably year-round in extreme conditions.
“The need for reliable, powerful icebreakers has never been more acute,” Puisto said. “Icebreakers enable us to maintain sovereignty, to assert presence, provide search and rescue, national defense and necessary logistical support to remote areas and to enable us to keep global sea lanes open, connecting our economies across the northern passages.”
He praised the new agreement as “building a more secure and stable Arctic future.”
The tax and spending bill Trump signed in July includes almost $9 billion to build Arctic security cutters.
In August, the Department of Homeland Security commissioned its first U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking ship in over 25 years, Noem said.
Chinese research vessels operated openly in U.S. waters shortly after the ship was commissioned, she said, adding, “They wanted to test America’s resolve. The Coast Guard responded immediately. We escorted those intruders out of our waters.”
