Finland has struck an agreement with the Trump administration to advance the construction and deployment of icebreaker ships in the fast-warming Arctic, where geopolitical tensions have exposed the need for a more defensive posture by the United States and its allies.
At a White House ceremony Thursday, President Donald Trump and Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the NATO partners would enter a procurement agreement for 11 new icebreakers for the United States. Four of the icebreakers would be built in Finland, while seven would be built in the U.S. with assistance from private-sector shipbuilders in Finland.
“We’re building them together for the most part. We’re doing four over there and seven over here,” Trump said during an Oval Office press conference with Stubb, who became Finland’s president in 2024.
“What you’re going to be doing is teaching us about the icebreaker business,” Trump added. “We only have one icebreaker in that millions and millions of acres, and other countries have more than we do. We’re buying the finest icebreakers in the world. Nobody makes them like Finland.”
