Healy, pictured here, is one of two US icebreakers. US, Canadian, and Finnish government leaders intend to collaborate on new icebreaker production. (Janes/Michael Fabey)
US, Canadian, and Finnish leaders intend to create the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact, a trilateral arrangement to collaborate on the production of polar icebreakers and related capabilities, the US White House confirmed on 11 July in a release.
“This collaboration is intended to strengthen the shipbuilding industry and industrial capacity of each nation – and build closer security and economic ties among our countries through information exchange and mutual workforce-development focused on building polar icebreakers, as well as other Arctic and polar capabilities,” the White House said in a release statement.
The US, which relies on two icebreakers – the heavy icebreaker US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Polar Star (WAGB-10) and medium icebreaker USCGC Healy, is now building a new fleet of Polar Security Cutter icebreakers, but that effort has been delayed. Canada is also building its own new icebreakers.
According to the White House, the new ICE Pact arrangement will consist of three initial components: enhanced information exchange between the US, Canada, and Finland; collaboration on workforce development; and an invitation to allies and partners to purchase icebreakers built in US, Canadian, or Finnish shipyards.
”Due to the capital intensity of shipbuilding, long-term, multiship orderbooks are essential to the success of a shipyard,” the White House said.
The US, Canadian, and Finnish governments intend to “leverage” their shipyards to build polar icebreakers for their own use, as well as to work closely with like-minded allies and partners to build and export polar icebreakers for their needs at speed and affordable cost, the White House said.
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