The United States Coast Guard has completed the awarding of two contracts for a total of eleven new icebreakers, with four of the vessels being delivered from Finland. Two of the vessels will be built in Helsinki and two in Rauma, while the others will be constructed in the USA.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has now completed the awarding of a total of two contracts for a total of eleven new icebreakers. The latest contract was announced on 11 February and involves the North American shipbuilder Davie Defense being awarded the task of building five of the icebreakers.
Of these five vessels, two will be built at Helsinki Shipyard Oy in Finland, a sister shipyard to Davie Defense. The other three will be constructed in the USA. The solution aims to meet the Coast Guard's accelerated timeline, with the first vessel to be delivered as early as 2028.
This is the second and final of the two contracts within the programme. On 29 December 2025, the United States Coast Guard announced that Rauma Marine Constructions Oy and Bollinger Shipyards together will deliver up to six icebreakers.
The United States Coast Guard comments on the initiative:
– Together, these icebreakers will form the backbone of a significantly expanded American icebreaker fleet. The order fulfils the president's directive to rapidly expand the USA's Arctic capability, the agency states.
Overall, the two contracts mean that four of the total eleven icebreakers will be built in Finland. Two will be built at Helsinki Shipyard and two at Rauma Marine Constructions.
Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto comments on the agreements in a press release:
– This agreement, together with the one previously concluded with the Rauma shipyard, will have a significant positive impact on the Finnish maritime industry. In an international comparison, Finland's combination of shipyards and a broad network of subcontractors and partners is quite unique.
The agreements follow in the wake of the deepened cooperation between Finland, the USA, and Canada within the framework of the so-called ICE Pact, something that the Nordic Defence Sector has previously reported on. On 18 November 2025, the countries signed a trilateral declaration confirming their support for the pact.