Officials representing the Governments of the United States, Canada and Finland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 13 November to begin working together to develop world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers.
The MoU builds off the launch of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact by Prime Minister Trudeau, President Stubb, and President Biden on the margins of the NATO Washington Summit in July, U.S Homeland Security states.
In signing the ICE Pact MoU, U.S Homeland Security states that the nations embarked on a transformative partnership that strengthens the ability to uphold international rules and maintain security in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
The ICE Pact includes four components:
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Enhanced information exchange between the United States, Canada, and Finland.
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Workforce development collaboration.
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Engagement with allies and partners.
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Research and development.
By jointly developing and producing world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers, the partnership is laying the foundation for a resilient and competitive shipbuilding industry, capable of meeting both national and global demand for these critical assets.
Furthermore, this arrangement underscores the collective commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Arctic and polar regions, and is a testament to the strength of allied cooperation in addressing strategic challenges.
Each of the nations recognizes the need to enhance Arctic and polar icebreaking capabilities to assert collective presence in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Moreover, building these specialized vessels at a faster pace, on a larger scale, and at competitive costs is a shared priority as safety and security is upheld in these strategically important areas.
Given the high costs of shipbuilding, long-term orders are essential for shipyard success in each of the countries. The collective investment in domestic shipyards has the potential to scale production and reduce the cost of Arctic and polar icebreakers for own use and for allies and partners.
In addition, the MoU will facilitate knowledge, information, and resource sharing with shipyards, with the potential to create high-quality manufacturing jobs in the maritime infrastructure industry.
ICE Pact will help provide the stability necessary to support the production of Arctic and polar icebreakers and strengthen U.S, Canada and Finland’s shipbuilding industries.
