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ICE Pact

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ICE Pact
Icebreaker Collaboration Effort
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, U.S President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
TypeTripartite treaty
Signed11 July 2024 (2024-07-11)
LocationWashington, D.C. United States
Original
signatories
  • Canada
  • Finland
  • United States
Signatories
Languages
  • English
  • Finnish

The Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, commonly referred to as the ICE Pact, is a trilateral partnership between the United States, Canada and Finland.[1] The ICE Pact was formed on 11 July 2024 in Washington, D.C.[2] The ICE Pact is a partnership in efforts to bolster shipbuilding capacities and industries, especially the enhancing of icebreaker ship production capacity in Canada and Finland, and to counter the influence of the Russian Federation and China in the Arctic region.[3][4]

The United States formed the ICE Pact to strengthen the United States Coast Guard and to accelerate icebreaker shipbuilding for itself and allies with assistance from Finland and Canada.[5][6] The country of manufacture is yet to be determined; US rules currently require navy ships to be manufactured in the United States, but not privately owned ships[7] (though there are Jones Act (Merchant Marine Act of 1920) restrictions on transport services). Canada has contracted for one heavy icebreaker from Seaspan ULC in British Columbia and plans to contract a second from Davie Shipbuilding in Quebec.[8] Canada has contracted 16 icebreaking multipurpose vessels from Seaspan (currently in functional design as of August 2024 with detailed design starting in the first half of 2025) and 6 medium icebreakers from Davie (initial contract was awarded in March 2024).[9] Finland has "know-how"; Helsinki Shipyard has built more than half of the world's icebreakers.[10][11] The US has an overall goal of 70-90 Arctic-capable ships built within a decade.[12][13] Canada is mainly to help with the ramping up and scaling of icebreaker ship building capacity.[13]

On 13 November 2024, in Washington, D.C., representatives from Canada, the United States and Finland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on building icebreakers for the Arctic region.[14]

Background

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Geopolitical map of the Arctic region which includes the Arctic Circle
See also: Arctic cooperation and politics and Arctic resources race

The United States started cutting off military cooperation with Russia after the 2014 Annexation of Crimea by Russia.[15]

Following the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Both Finland and Sweden are members of the Arctic Council and in the Arctic region, however only Finland has become a member of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort. In response to Finland bordering the Russian Federation and it being an "unfriendly nation", Finland has taken efforts to increase its military collaboration with NATO allies, especially with members of the Arctic region, such as the United States.[16] The other members of the Arctic Council started excluding Russia from Arctic coordination after the 2022 invasion.

By 2024, after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic put shipbuilding in the United States years behind schedule, with shortages of experienced labour, supply chain delays, and design problems.[17]

With increasing temperatures due to climate change making navigation in more of the area more feasible more of the time, the Russian Federation seeks to exploit resources in the Arctic and to open trade routes in the far north through the Northwest and Northeast Passages.[18] China also has had interests in the Arctic for a while, especially since 2013 when China gained a permanent observer status in the Arctic Council,[19] and China seeks to extend military capabilities, conduct research, and wishes to excavate resources in the Arctic.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Finland, US, Canada to intensify icebreaker collaboration". dailyfinland. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ Uusi-Hakala, Katja (11 July 2024). "Joint Statement on ICE Pact". Presidentti. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  3. ^ Cecco, Leyland (11 July 2024). "US, Canada and Finland form 'Ice Pact' to project influence into Arctic region". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  4. ^ House, The White (11 July 2024). "Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Polar Partnership "ICE Pact" Alongside Finland and Canada". The White House. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  5. ^ "U.S., Canada and Finland announce joint Icebreaker Collaboration Effort - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Jäänmurtaja-aloite on Suomelle merkittävä teollisuuspoliittinen mahdollisuus". Valtioneuvosto (in Finnish). 11 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Nato-jäsenyys tuo Suomelle himoitun yhteistyön". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). 11 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  8. ^ Murray Brewster (12 July 2024). "Canada, U.S. and Finland form pact to build icebreakers for Arctic". CBC News.
  9. ^ In the midst of designing and building 21 icebreaker vessels, Seaspan Shipyards welcomes the formation of the "ICE Pact"
  10. ^ "Canada to work with Finland, U.S. on 'Ice Pact' to build icebreakers". NNSL Media. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Suomi aloittaa jäänmurtajayhteistyön Yhdysvaltojen ja Kanadan kanssa – taustalla Kiinan toimet arktisella alueella". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 11 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  12. ^ "US, Canada, Finland launch effort to build ice-breaking ships as China and Russia cooperate in Arctic". Reuters. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  13. ^ a b Rizzi, Alberto (15 July 2024). "Cold rush: How a transatlantic ship pact can win the race for the Arctic". ECFR. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  14. ^ "United States, Canada, and Finland Sign MOU to Build Arctic and Polar Icebreakers". United States Department of Homeland Security. 13 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  15. ^ "International Security Advisory Board: Report on Arctic Policy". U.S. Department of State. 21 September 2016.
  16. ^ "Puolustusyhteistyösopimus Yhdysvaltain kanssa (DCA)". 5 July 2024.
  17. ^ Mike Stone (2 April 2024). "US Navy ship building schedules hit by supply-chain woes, labor shortages". Reuters.
  18. ^ "U.S., Finland and Canada join 'ICE Pact' to counter Russia in Arctic". The Washington Times. 12 July 2024.
  19. ^ Buixadé Farré, Albert; Stephenson, Scott R.; Chen, Linling; Czub, Michael; Dai, Ying; Demchev, Denis; Efimov, Yaroslav; Graczyk, Piotr; Grythe, Henrik; Keil, Kathrin; Kivekäs, Niku; Kumar, Naresh; Liu, Nengye; Matelenok, Igor; Myksvoll, Mari (2 October 2014). "Commercial Arctic shipping through the Northeast Passage: routes, resources, governance, technology, and infrastructure". Polar Geography. 37 (4): 298–324. doi:10.1080/1088937X.2014.965769. ISSN 1088-937X.
  20. ^ "How China uses Russia to cement its position as an Arctic superpower". Quartz. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
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