The United States government is negotiating with its NATO ally Finland to buy an icebreaker and possibly two more from the Nordic country. The news follows previous U.S. policy steps, including the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact) with Canada and Finland to form an icebreaker-building partnership and the U.S.’s recent purchase of a commercial icebreaker from a global energy company.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced the most recent negotiations with Finland at the June 2025 NATO summit at The Hague in The Netherlands. The purchase is part of a larger, sustained effort to bolster the U.S. capability in the Arctic as melting sea ice creates new economic opportunities in a region increasingly contested by the Chinese Communist Party and Russia. Trump and Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment confirmed the negotiations, according to the Helsinki Times, a Finnish newspaper. “Shipbuilding has long been a key industrial sector in Finland, with its icebreaking technology considered among the most advanced globally. The outcome of the negotiations may influence future procurement policies and further strengthen cooperation between the NATO partners in Arctic security and logistics,” the newspaper reported.
The vessel under consideration is the Fennica, a multipurpose icebreaker in service since 1993. The Fennica is a 116-meter ship with a reinforced hull strengthened for unassisted operation in the Arctic, sub-Arctic and Antarctic regions. It has been well maintained and has made several Arctic voyages, reported High North News, a Norwegian newspaper. Aside from serving as a capable stopgap measure, the ship could be used as a training platform for icebreaker crews as the U.S. continues to ramp up its Arctic capabilities. In addition, the U.S. is talking with Finland about building two new icebreakers for the U.S., the newspaper reported.
The Fennica’s potential purchase comes soon after the U.S. announced the purchase of the Storis, a commercial icebreaker formerly belonging to the oil company Shell, in 2024. The ships would provide an immediate upgrade for the U.S. Coast Guard’s security and monitoring mission in the Arctic. Finland, too, has become an integral part of the U.S. icebreaker strategy. In July 2024, the U.S. announced the ICE Pact with Canada and Finland to produce icebreakers in each country. The U.S. moves come amid a Coast Guard effort to build three Polar Security icebreakers in U.S. shipyards. The first icebreaker from the Bollinger Shipyards in Mississippi will be available in 2030.
Finland could complete an icebreaker within three years — the average time for construction in Finnish shipyards, according to High North News. The U.S. has pursued an aggressive strategy to upgrade its monitoring and security presence in the Arctic for several years. “Arctic responsibilities are shared across multiple geographic and functional combatant commands, and as competition in the region increases, safeguarding Arctic access and freedom of maneuver will depend on Joint Force Arctic operational capabilities and build on the already strong ties between Arctic partners. USNORTHCOM (U.S. Northern Command) places enormous value on the ability to conduct operations and exercises in the High North and to execute assigned missions in coordination with fellow combatant commands,” Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of USNORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, stated in April 2025 testimony to Congress.