On the sidelines of this week’s NATO summit in Washington DC, the US, Canada and Finland have agreed to work together to build more polar icebreakers.

The so-called ICE Pact – which stands for Icebreaker Collaboration Effort – is a potential sizeable bonus for many shipyards in North America and Scandinavia and comes at a time when Russia is ramping up infrastructure and traffic along its Arctic waterways. 

“In the Arctic, new, faster shipping lanes hold the potential to create new economic opportunities and drive down shipping costs. In the Antarctic, our partnership can also foster increased scientific research and international cooperation,” stated a joint statement from the three nations. 

“The ICE Pact will reinforce the message to Russia and China that the United States and its allies intend to … doggedly pursue collaboration on industrial policy to increase our competitive edge in strategic industries like shipbuilding, to build a world-class polar icebreaking fleet at scale,” a senior US official told reporters.