Trump announces to order 40 icebreakers

United States President Donald Trump announced to order 40 icebreakers for his country focusing on building a big, new American icebreaker fleet, reported US based news outlet Forbes.

“We’re going to order about 40 big icebreakers,” said the Forbes report, quoting Trump as saying on the following day of his second inauguration as President of U.S.

Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Tuesday held a telephone conversation with US colleague Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed on the icebreaker issue.

“I spoke on the phone with my US colleague Secretary of State Marco Rubio. US and Finnish interests are aligned: We want to defend democracy, keep our countries safe and strengthen our economies. ……We touched upon our cooperation on ice-breakers,” Valtonen wrote in a post on his social media platform X.

In November 2024, officials representing the governments of Finland, Canada and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers.

The MoU will facilitate knowledge, information, and resource sharing with shipyards, with the potential to create high-quality manufacturing jobs in the maritime infrastructure industry.

The MoU was signed following the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact signed by President Alexander Stubb, his US counterpart Joe Biden and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau in Washington in July, 2024.