The United States is facing a mounting national security risk to its north. The Arctic is fast becoming a new stage for geopolitical competition and America is underprepared. While Russia commands a fleet of over 40 polar icebreakers and China operates four with a fifth on the way, the United States can muster only three. Only one of those, the Polar Star, is a true heavy icebreaker, but it’s an aging ship that is largely held together by resourcefulness and cannibalized spare parts.

The imbalance is striking not only in numbers but in strategic reach. A direct comparison with Russia isn’t entirely fair: Russia has a sprawling Arctic coastline, with multiple ports and year-round shipping routes to maintain. But China’s position is another story. Even though it is not an Arctic nation, China has still managed to outpace Washington in building icebreaking capability — a clear signal of its ambition to expand its influence in the polar north.

This discrepancy is a flashing warning light for US national security. The Arctic sea ice is thinning, its shipping lanes are opening, and the nations poised to navigate those waters will shape the region’s future, from trade and energy to defense. For now, the United States is watching from the sidelines, with a fleet too small and too old to keep up. But the recent deal signed with Finland to build a new fleet of icebreakers may be just what’s needed to rescue American polar capability.

The Current Fleet

The US Coast Guard operates the nation’s entire polar icebreaker fleet, a trio that could politely be called venerable. The Polar Star, commissioned in 1976, is the lone heavy icebreaker still in service, largely in the Antarctic. The Healy, a medium icebreaker launched in 1999, handles most Arctic research and patrol duties. The Storis, a newly acquired former offshore supply vessel, is being hastily retooled for polar operations. All three, in their own ways, are indispensable. All three are also overburdened.

To keep the Polar Star running, engineers routinely scavenge parts from her long-idled sister ship, the Polar Sea. The Healy, after suffering a major fire in 2020 and a mechanical failure in 2024, has required extensive refits that stretch the Coast Guard’s maintenance budget to its limit. Even with “no-fail” funding status, meaning every dollar needed for upkeep is provided, the service struggles to keep its icebreakers seaworthy.

The Storis has offered some relief, but at a cost. Originally designed for offshore supply work, it requires major modifications to survive Arctic duty: reinforced hull plating, upgraded propulsion, and new ice-class systems. These retrofits will be done in phases, squeezed between patrol deployments — a logistical compromise that saves time on paper but raises costs and complicates crew training. The result will be a serviceable but imperfect vessel, a one-off design without the efficiencies of a true class.

Behind the scenes, Coast Guard planners estimate they’ll need eight to nine icebreakers — a mix of heavy and medium — to properly meet their mission demands in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Heavy icebreakers can smash through thick ice year-round and operate in deep waters. Medium icebreakers, cheaper and more agile, are ideal for coastal patrols and search and rescue.

The problem was that neither category was arriving on schedule. The much-touted Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program, meant to deliver three new heavy icebreakers, has stalled. Announced in 2019 with an initial delivery target of 2024, the first ship is still being designed. Costs have soared from $1.9 billion to over $5 billion, and no credible completion date exists. The medium icebreaker program, known as the Arctic Security Cutter (ASC), has until recently existed only as a name on a planning document.

And so, America turned to Finland.

The Deal

President Donald Trump has now signed an historic agreement with Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb to build up to 11 new icebreakers in partnership with Finland’s storied shipbuilding industry.

It’s a pragmatic decision not without its irony: The man who campaigned to “Make America Great Again” is outsourcing one of the nation’s most critical maritime projects to Europe. But Trump and his advisers evidently appreciate that speed, not symbolism, is the priority. “We’re buying the finest icebreakers in the world,” Trump said during the signing ceremony. “And Finland is known for making them.”

He’s not wrong. Finland’s entire coastline freezes in winter, and its survival has long depended on its ability to keep its seas navigable. Since launching its first diesel-electric icebreaker in the 1930s, the country has perfected the art of building ships that can survive and maneuver in thick ice. Its shipyards — compact, highly specialized, and integrated with domestic suppliers — have produced some of the world’s most advanced icebreakers. During the Cold War, Finland sold many of those vessels to the Soviet Union, but Finnish shipbuilders are now turning west.

Under the new agreement, four Arctic Security Cutters will be built at Finnish yards, leveraging local expertise and technology. Those designs and lessons will then transfer to US shipyards, where up to seven more will be built under an “accelerated schedule.” Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards — already one of the Coast Guard’s primary shipbuilders — will oversee domestic production in partnership with Seaspan Shipyards in Canada and two Finnish firms, Rauma Marine Constructions and Aker Arctic Technology. The plan is ambitious: The first three ships will be built simultaneously, split between Finland and America, with deliveries expected within three years of the contract award.

Each Arctic Security Cutter will measure roughly 360 feet long, capable of breaking through three feet of ice continuously at three knots, traveling 12,000 nautical miles, and operating for over 60 days without resupply. Equipped with a flight deck and hangar for helicopters, these vessels will be multi-mission platforms designed for defense, research, law enforcement, and rescue operations. They’ll also be interoperable with the Canadian Coast Guard’s new fleet, forming what could become the largest and most cohesive icebreaking capability in the world. The price tag: about $6.1 billion for the full program.

For the Coast Guard, this is more than a procurement project — it’s a generational reset. The first wave of Finnish-built ships will provide much-needed presence in the Arctic, while the transfer of technology and know-how will jumpstart American production capacity for future vessels. Under the ICE Pact framework — a trilateral cooperation between the United States, Canada, and Finland — the project is a model for allied industrial collaboration. It not only strengthens America’s ability to operate in the Arctic but also weaves together a network of Western partners with shared strategic goals.

The Race for the High North

Behind the diplomacy lies a stark reality: the Arctic is changing fast. As ice retreats, new shipping routes shorten the distance between Europe and Asia by thousands of miles. Untapped oil, gas, and mineral deposits promise immense economic potential. And military presence, from radar installations to submarine patrols, is increasing. Russia has fortified its northern bases. China calls itself a “near-Arctic state” and sends research ships to map the seafloor. Only a month ago, two of these ships cruised across an area of seabed claimed by the United States off Alaska, prompting the Coast Guard to scramble the Healy for observation.

These provocations are likely to multiply, and America’s Arctic footprint is no longer sufficient. The partnership with Finland may be a stopgap, but it is also a statement: that the United States intends to return to the Arctic not as a spectator, but as a player.

Whether the plan can deliver ships on time and within budget remains an open question. But one thing is clear — the ice is melting, and the clock is ticking.