Finland: Siltanews – News Desk
Following U.S. President Trump’s remarks about buying Finnish icebreakers at the NATO summit in The Hague last week, additional details have emerged.
The U.S. reportedly intends to lease or purchase the more than 30-year old Fennica icebreaker. In addition Finnish yards could construct two new icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard. Finland’s modern Polaris icebreaker, however, was not up for sale or available for lease, said a government representative last week.
Finland has limited icebreakers available that it would be willing to part with and that would be suitable for use by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Fennica, built in1993 as prototype design for a multi-purpose icebreaker could serve as a capable stopgap measure to further bolster the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic fleet, until new-built vessels become available by 2030.
The 33-years old vessel has been well maintained and upgraded over the years. While it ultimately did not prove very suitable for service in the Baltic Sea, it has sailed across the Arctic on multiple occasions, including Russia’s Northern Sea Route and Canada’s Northwest Passage.
In fact it could prove more useful than the U.S. Coast Guard’s recent acquisition, Stories. The Coast Guard purchased the vessel at the end of 2024 and intends to formally commission it in August 2024. The commercial icebreaking anchor handling tug supply vessel, originally called Aiviq and built for Shell’s Arctic oil operation, has faced repeated criticism about its suitability for the Coast Guard’s mission.