Trump, Finland's Stubb expected to reach icebreaker deal
By Steve Holland and Anne Kauranen
October 9, 20251:06 PM GMT+3Updated 1 hour ago
Trump has consistently called for the United States to acquire as many as 40 new icebreakers to enhance U.S. national security in the Arctic and counter the growing influence of China and Russia.
A White House official said Trump would sign a memorandum of understanding with Finland to build four "Arctic security cutters" at shipyards in Finland, calling the plan a national security necessity to permit foreign construction.
"We will then leverage Finnish expertise to construct up to seven new ASCs in shipyards located in the United States," the official said.
The 11 Arctic security cutters, a new medium icebreaker to be used by the U.S. Coast Guard, are expected to cost about $6.1 billion, the official said.
Three of the ships will be built by Davie in Galveston, Texas, and four will be built by Bollinger Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana, the official said.
The aim is for the first icebreaker to be delivered by 2028. The official said the deals would result in billions of dollars of new investment in the U.S. maritime industrial base and add thousands of skilled trades jobs for Americans.