The Department of Homeland Security announced that government officials from the three Arctic Council nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to engage in trilateral cooperation to develop and build “world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers.” 

“Today, just months after we kicked off this partnership, we are taking a significant step forward to enhance collaboration on the production of these vessels through the exchange of knowledge, information, and resources among our countries,” read a White House press release. “This transformative partnership will enhance our ability to uphold international rules and maintain security in the polar and Arctic regions, while at the same time laying the foundation for a resilient and competitive shipbuilding industry that is capable of meeting both national and global demand for these critical assets.”

Multiple U.S. government assessments have revealed that the U.S. is lagging in polar icebreaker developments, falling behind rival Arctic nations Russia and China, which has sought to identify itself as a “near-Arctic nation.” The lack of polar icebreakers has been identified as a predicament for the country. Currently, the U.S. only has two icebreakers in operation. Other plans to build new icebreakers have been met with repeated delays. A recent assessment of the country’s needs for Arctic and Antarctic missions and objectives revealed that the government needed at least four heavy and medium icebreakers. 

“It’s definitely a crisis right now, but it’s something that has been decades in the making,” Rebecca Pincus, director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center, told the Washington Times earlier this year. “We’re at a point right now where the U.S. has fewer icebreakers than China.”

The Arctic region is often referred to as one of the planet’s last frontiers. Warming climates in the region have led to increased areas of melting sea ice, resulting in the exposure of new areas available to access valuable resources and the accessibility of transportation routes that were once too frozen to travel. This has led to a surge of competition in the area, with numerous countries vying to capitalize on these new opportunities.

“We’re seeing some of the most assertive and even aggressive actions of potential adversaries who are really leaning forward in the Arctic,” said Bill Blair, Canada’s defense minister. “The region is facing new challenges and potentially new threats, and it really demands that we respond in an appropriate way.”

“The United States is an Arctic nation, and the Coast Guard is vital to providing a presence in our sovereign waters and the polar regions,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard’s vice commandant. “Acquiring a commercially available polar icebreaker will enable the Coast Guard to increase our national presence in the Arctic.”

“By jointly developing and producing world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers, we are laying the foundation for a resilient and competitive shipbuilding industry, capable of meeting both national and global demand for these critical assets,” DHS announced in a press release. “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.”

“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,” DHS said. ”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 MOU agreement to facilitate the construction of icebreakers was one of the key initiatives outlined in the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Jack Trudeau, and Finland President Alexander Stubb agreed to this partnership during the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., in July. 

“Under this trilateral arrangement, Canadian, Finnish, and American capacity and know-how for building polar icebreakers will help deliver a fleet of new polar icebreakers for ourselves, our allies, and other partners,” read a White House press release at the time.