Trump Seals Icebreaker Deal

Trump and Stubb have established friendly ties since Trump regained power in January, and the two met in March at the president's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and played a round of golf.

The two leaders approved a memorandum of understanding on icebreaker cooperation that is intended to lay the foundation for commercial agreements between the U.S. Coast Guard and Finnish companies.

Under the agreement, Finland will build four "Arctic security cutters" at shipyards in Finland, and then the U.S. will leverage Finnish expertise to construct up to seven new ASCs in shipyards located in the United States.

"We're buying the finest icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for making them," Trump said, sitting side by side with Stubb in the Oval Office.

Stubb called it a "huge strategic decision" by Trump "because we all know that the Arctic is important strategically."

The 11 Arctic security cutters - new medium icebreakers to be used by the U.S. Coast Guard - are expected to cost about $6.1 billion, a White House official said.

Trump also said the United States would defend Finland, a NATO ally, if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to order an attack, but "I don't think he's going to do that."

Stubb also played down the short-term Russian risk to Finland, telling Reuters in an interview Moscow was not an "imminent military threat."

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.

At the moment, Russia itself has around 40 icebreakers, many times the nearest country, putting the major NATO nemesis at a potentially significant advantage in the far north.

"I think people are waking up to the reality that we need to strengthen our deterrence so that a conflict (with Russia) will not be possible," Stubb said in an interview following his visit with Trump.

Coast guard's fleet upgrade

Three of the 11 ships will be built by international shipbuilder 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.

The Coast Guard's polar fleet currently includes only two operational Arctic security cutters, the official said.

Bollinger collaboration

Bollinger Shipyards will undertake the design and construction of six cutters in partnership with Rauma Marine Constructions, Seaspan Shipyards, and Aker Arctic Technology. The Bollinger-led team will leverage the mature and production-ready Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI) design, developed by Seaspan and Aker Arctic for allied missions in extreme polar environments.

“Today’s award is a testament to President Trump’s leadership and his historic investment in America’s maritime industrial base,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “We appreciate the trust President Trump has placed in the skilled men and women of Bollinger Shipyards and stand ready to begin construction on these critical vessels on day one. The Arctic Security Cutter will enable the United States to rapidly project American power, enforce our sovereignty, and reassert American dominance in the Arctic.”

The first three vessels will be built simultaneously by Rauma in Finland and Bollinger in the United States, with production of the remaining three vessels to be built in the United States. Delivery of the first three vessels is expected within 36 months of the contract award.

Davie ready

Davie Defense has issued a statement saying: “We stand ready to support this effort and invest up to $1 billion and create thousands of jobs in the United States. Davie Defense and Helsinki Shipyard are ready to support the U.S. Government’s effort to upgrade the American icebreaking fleet.”

James Davies, Group Co-Owner and CEO Davie Shipbuilding, said: “This MOU marks the start of an allied shipbuilding effort not seen since the Second World War – led by the United States and powered by Finland’s world-leading icebreaker expertise. It represents the revival of US and Western industrial strength to meet growing adversarial threats in the Arctic. We can deliver real capability and opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic. We will work tirelessly with the U.S. Coast Guard to get ships on the water by 2028.”