US teams with Canada, Finland on polar icebreakers to chill Russian, Chinese power up north
"Without this arrangment, we'd risk our adversaries developing an advantage in a specialized technology with vast geostrategic importance," a White House official said.
By LEE FERRAN
on July 11, 2024 at 10:00 AM
NATO SUMMIT 2024 — The US, Canada and Finland announced today a new trilateral effort, dubbed the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort or “ICE Pact,” to work together on the production of a “fleet” of new polar icebreakers, in what a US official said was a “strategic imperative” in the race of dominance of the high north.
The initiative, to be formalized in a memorandum of understanding by the end of the year, calls for better information sharing on ship production, collaboration on work force development — including better allowing workers and experts to train at each other’s yards — and an “invitation” to other allies and partners to buy icebreakers from ICE Pact members.
“Due to the capital intensity of shipbuilding, long-term, multi-ship orderbooks are essential to the success of a shipyard,” the White House said in its announcement. “The governments of the United States, Canada, and Finland intend to leverage shipyards in the United States, Canada, and Finland to build polar icebreakers for their own use, as well as to work closely with likeminded allies and partners to build and export polar icebreakers for their needs at speed and affordable cost.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2024/07/us-teams-with-canada-finland-on-polar-icebreakers-to-check-russian-chinese-power-up-north/
