Trump, Finnish president expected to reach icebreaker ships deal
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US President Donald Trump and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb have established friendly ties since Mr Trump regained power in January.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb will meet on Oct 9 at the White House, planning to approve a pact for the US Coast Guard to buy up to four icebreaker ships from Finnish shipyards.
Mr Trump and Mr Stubb have established friendly ties since Mr Trump regained power in January, and the two met in March at the US President’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and played a round of golf.
Mr Trump has consistently called for the United States to acquire as many as 40 new icebreakers to enhance US national security in the Arctic
A White House official said Mr 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 US Coast Guard, are expected to cost about US$6.1 billion (S$7.9 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 US maritime industrial base and add thousands of skilled trades jobs for Americans.
The US Coast Guard’s operational polar fleet currently includes only two operational Arctic security cutters, the official said.
Mr Trump and Mr Stubb are also likely to discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine. Mr Trump, after trying to use his personal relationship to coax Russian President Vladimir Putin into a ceasefire, has said he is disappointed in Mr Putin
Finland is the world’s leading producer of icebreakers, with about 80 per cent of existing ships designed by its companies, and about 60 per cent of them built at its shipyards, the Finnish government said in 2024.
Finnish leaders have long advocated for icebreaker deals with the United States but such attempts have previously been rebuffed by the Jones Act, US legislation that prioritises domestic businesses in the maritime industry. REUTERS
