Lock the White House Watch Newsletter for free
Your Guide to What Trump’s Second Season Means Washington, Business and World
Finland is optimistic that it can avoid years of regulatory barriers to build icebreakers for the United States as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to strengthen the existence of Arctic security.
Reco Antoti Sujanen, a former shipbuilding executive who leads cooperation with the US at the Finland ice bath, told the Financial Times that after years of fruitless talk, he was hoping for a breakthrough thanks to Trump’s interest.
Trump lamented the lack of icebreakers in his country as geopolitical competition heats up in the frozen north. The US only has two, while Russia boasts around 40.
Currently, three big icebreakers are on orders from the US Coast Guard, but they are at least five years behind and run beyond budgets. Under American law, all navy and coast guard vessels must be built domestically.
Previous icebreakers built in the United States were built in the 1970s.
“While the President prioritizes shipbuilding in the United States, immediate presence in the Arctic is in the greatest interest of national security. We are working with our allies Finland to promote this process,” a White House official said.
Finland is one of the world’s leading icebreaker manufacturers and signed a contract in March to produce such a vessel for Canada.
“Our industry, like other buyers, is very keen on selling new icebreakers to the US. That’s the special know-how we have.
Maritime experts say the US president can prohibit the construction of navy or coast guard vessels in foreign shipyards and prohibit the ships from securing them.
Trump himself hinted at the ban this week when he discussed buying an icebreaker from Finland, adding, “I didn’t go to Parliament – they’ll fire each.”
The US president said he had also been discussing buying something currently in service in Finland, as well as the new icebreaker. He added that it provided a third of what Helsinki wanted, saying, “I’m older like five or six.” “They make them really good and they know what they’re doing,” he added.
Suojanen confirmed there was a debate over the sale of second-hand icebreakers, but said Finland is not selling the Polaris, the latest vessel built in 2016.
“It’s the fastest way to get one. The problem is that Finland doesn’t have any additional icebreakers,” he says, adding that Finland had its own program to build new icebreakers to replace existing fleets, but this was moving slowly.
The debate over the purchase of icebreakers from Finland began with Trump’s first presidency from 2017 to 2021, but it did not come to fruition.
But Trump’s interest in strengthening American Arctic security appears stronger in his second term, including his lasting desire to control Greenland from NATO Ally Denmark.
The US Coast Guard is planning to order three medium-sized icebreakers in the short term. Furthermore, Suyanen said: “If you need icebreakers faster, you need to build them in Finland. I think America has yards where you can build icebreakers right away.”
Additional Reports by Steff Chávez
