By Kevin Akor
HELSINKI (chatnewstv.com) — Finnish shipyards in Helsinki and Rauma will begin building four icebreakers for the United States Coast Guard under agreements announced this week, in a move officials say will bolster Finland’s maritime industry and deepen Arctic cooperation between the two countries.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment said Tuesday that the U.S. Coast Guard and the Helsinki shipyard finalized an agreement published the same day. A separate deal between the Coast Guard and the Rauma shipyard was announced on Dec. 29, 2025.
“With the agreements, the building of four icebreakers will begin at the shipyards in Helsinki and Rauma,” the ministry said in a statement.
Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto welcomed the confirmation of the Helsinki contract, calling it “excellent news.”
“This agreement, together with the one that was concluded with the Rauma shipyard earlier, will have a significant positive impact on the Finnish maritime industry,” Puisto said. “In international comparison, Finland’s combination of shipyards and a broad network of subcontractors and partners is quite unique.”
The U.S. Coast Guard has ordered a total of 11 icebreakers, seven of which will be constructed in the United States. Three vessels will be built at the Galveston, Texas, shipyard of Davie, the Canadian company that owns the Helsinki shipyard.
“The use of Finnish competence and technology commercially will play an important role in the building of the vessels in Galveston,” Puisto said.
The agreements stem from a memorandum of understanding signed in Washington in October 2025 by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and U.S. President Donald Trump. Officials described the icebreaker order as a concrete outcome of long-term bilateral cooperation.
The project also strengthens collaboration among Finland, the United States and Canada under the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, known as the ICE Pact.
On Nov. 18, 2025, the three countries signed a trilateral declaration backing the ICE Pact initiative launched in autumn 2024 to intensify cooperation in developing Arctic and polar icebreakers and related capabilities.
Finnish officials said the arrangement reinforces Finland’s position as a leading player in icebreaker design and construction while enhancing the operational capacity of its allies in the Arctic region.
