The Sampo, a Finnish icebreaker, anchored in the frozen Baltic Sea in February 2017. Through the “ICE” Pact, the United States is hoping to benefit from Finnish expertise in cold-weather shipbuilding. (Shutterstock/Leonard Zhukovsky)

The US-Canada-Finland Icebreaker Alliance Is Coming Together

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Representatives from the three nations met in Helsinki last week to discuss joint efforts to speed up icebreaker construction—even as all three have increased it on their own.

The US, Canada, and Finland have joined forces to build an icebreaker fleet under the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact. The three nations discussed the pact during meetings on May 6 and 7 in Helsinki, with a focus on accelerating icebreaker production and expanding Arctic industrial capacity.

The pact’s timing coincides with the Arctic’s increasing relevance as a strategic theater for great power politics, which has in turn made icebreakers a critical security asset and infrastructure. The ICE Pact reflects growing concern that Western Arctic capability has fallen behind........

© The National Interest