Building off of landmark agreements signed in July, the governments of the United States, Canada and Finland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to start work on developing world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers.
The MOU covers the exchange of knowledge, information and resources in each country to address security in the Artic and Antarctic regions. The agreement furthers the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact by President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The Arctic and polar icebreakers will lay the foundation for resiliency and competitive shipbuilding helping all countries involved meet the national and global demand for the assets, officials said
“ This arrangement underscores our 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,” the countries said in a joint statement. “Each of our nations recognizes the need to enhance our Arctic and polar icebreaking capabilities to assert our collective presence in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Building these specialized vessels at a faster pace, on a larger scale, and at competitive costs is a shared priority as we uphold safety and security in these strategically important areas.”
The pact covers four components: enhanced information exchange between the countries; workforce development collaboration; engagement with allies and partners; and research and development. Officials said the high cost of shipbuilding makes shipyard success a key element for each of the countries and the collective investment in domestic shipyards has the potential to scale production and reduce costs for their own uses, as well as for their allies and partners.
“By leveraging our collective expertise and resources, 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,” the countries said. “ICE Pact will help provide the stability necessary to support the production of Arctic and polar icebreakers and strengthen our shipbuilding industries.”