The United States, Canada and Finland will work together to build up their icebreaker fleets as they look to bolster their defenses in the Arctic, where Russia has been increasingly active, the White House announced Thursday.
Quick Read
- The United States, Canada, and Finland will collaborate to enhance their icebreaker fleets to strengthen defenses in the Arctic, countering increasing Russian activity, as announced by the White House on Thursday.
- The pact, revealed at the NATO summit, includes shared information on icebreaker production, cross-training in shipyards, and promoting purchases of polar icebreakers from each other’s shipyards.
- White House Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh emphasized that this collaboration aims to reinforce to Russia and China that the U.S. and allies will actively pursue industrial policy collaboration to maintain a competitive edge.
- The U.S. currently has only two aging icebreakers, while Finland has 12, Canada has nine, and Russia has 36, according to U.S. Coast Guard data.
- President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb discussed the icebreaker pact during the NATO summit, primarily focused on countering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The U.S. Coast Guard has identified the need for eight to nine icebreakers, including heavy polar security cutters and medium Arctic security cutters, with construction expected to begin this year.
- Climate change has increased the accessibility of the Arctic, heightening the urgency for more American icebreakers to match the capabilities of the Russian fleet.
- The U.S. has not built a heavy polar icebreaker in nearly 50 years, with the last being the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star commissioned in 1976.
- Icebreaker construction is challenging due to the need to withstand thick ice and extreme sea and air temperatures.
- The U.S., Canada, and Finland plan to sign a memorandum of understanding by the end of the year to formalize their cooperation on icebreaker production and capabilities.
The Associated Press has the story:
US, Canada & Finland look to build more icebreakers to counter Russia in the Arctic
NEwslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
The United States, Canada and Finland will work together to build up their icebreaker fleets as they look to bolster their defenses in the Arctic, where Russia has been increasingly active, the White House announced Thursday.
The pact announced at the NATO summit calls for enhanced information sharing on polar icebreaker production, allowing for workers and experts from each country to train in shipyards across all three, and promoting to allies the purchase of polar icebreakers from American, Finnish or Canadian shipyards for their own needs.
Daleep Singh, the White House deputy national security adviser for international economics, said it would reinforce to adversaries Russia and China that the U.S. and allies will “doggedly pursue collaboration on industrial policy to increase our competitive edge.”
Beijing has sought to tighten its relationship with Moscow as much of the West has tried to economically isolate Russia in the aftermath of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Without this arrangement, we’d risk our adversaries developing an advantage in a specialized technology with vast geostrategic importance, which could also allow them to become the preferred supplier for countries that also have an interest in purchasing polar icebreakers,” Singh said. “We’re committed to projecting power into the high latitudes alongside our allies and partners. And, that requires a continuous surface presence in the polar regions, both to combat Russian aggression and to limit China’s ability to gain influence.”
Singh noted that the U.S. has only two icebreakers, and both are nearing the end of their usable life. Finland has 12 icebreakers and Canada has nine, while Russia has 36, according to U.S. Coast Guard data.
President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finnish President Alexander Stubb discussed the pact on the sidelines of this week’s summit, which focused largely on the alliance’s efforts to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
During a talk in February at RAND, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said the agency has determined it needs eight to nine icebreakers — a mix of heavy polar security cutters and medium Arctic security cutters. Gautier said some test panels were being built in Mississippi and full construction of an icebreaker is slated to begin this year.
As climate change has made it easier to access the Arctic region, the need for more American icebreakers has become more acute, especially when compared with the Russian fleet.
According to a Government Accountability Office report, the U.S. hasn’t built a heavy polar icebreaker in almost 50 years. The 399-foot Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star was commissioned in 1976 and the 420-foot Coast Guard Cutter Healy was commissioned in 1999.
Building an icebreaker can be challenging because it has to be able to withstand the brutal crashing through ice that can be as thick as 21 feet (6.4 meters) and wildly varying sea and air temperatures, the report said. Singh said the U.S., Canada and Finland would sign a memorandum of understanding by the end of the year to formalize the pact.
