Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Tuesday that the United States, in partnership with Canada and Finland, agreed to build nearly a dozen new icebreaker ships to defend the Arctic.
Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman and Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto joined Noem at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C., to sign a joint statement of intent dubbed the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact).
The JSOI builds upon the 2024 Memorandum of Understanding, in which the three countries initially came together to collectively design, build, and maintain best-in-class Arctic and polar vessels.
“Today is a major milestone in the race to security Arctic for all of our countries, the Arctic is the world’s last most wild frontier, and our adversaries are racing to claim a strategic position and its rich natural resources for their own if we give up that background, then we will condemn future generations to permanent insecurity, and we’re not going to let that happen on our watch,” Noem said.
The signed agreement calls for the building of 11 icebreakers over the next several years. Four are set to be made in Finland, which is already underway, while the other seven will be made in the United States once the country’s shipyards “get up to speed” with the help of the Finnish, Noem said.
The announcement builds on President Donald Trump’s Oct. 9 presidential memorandum regarding Arctic Security Cutters (ASC). A related White House fact sheet notes that the Coast Guard currently has only two operational ASCs, one of which was commissioned almost 50 years ago, despite the service assessing that “at least 9 ASCs are needed in order to serve our national security needs year-round.”
Icebreakers are Coast Guard vessels with reinforced hulls and powerful machinery designed to allow them to propel through iced-over waters. These boats are crucial for Arctic navigation, sometimes clearing the path for other ships to follow.
The Arctic Council, the preeminent organization for international mediation in the region, consists of eight members: The United States, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Russia is the only non-Western country with a claim to the Arctic. Still, China has unilaterally given itself the title of a “near-Arctic state” with a vested interest in the region, despite being approximately 900 miles away.
As ice in the Arctic melts, it creates new sea paths and increased opportunity for faster routes, which is why the competition in the region has become more pressing.
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Noem said Chinese research vessels “openly operated in and near U.S. Arctic waters,” after the U.S. commissioned the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis in August.
“Their goal was clear. They wanted to test America’s resolve,” she said of the Chinese military. “The Coast Guard responded immediately. In fact, we deployed the Cutter Healy and a fleet of air assets to the scene, and we escorted those intruders out of our waters.”
