Page 57: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2025)

ICE PACT COUNTRIES & NATO ALLIES

Canada’s NSS budget for of the ice- breaking 30 vessels is C$31.2 billion

Defining Ice (~US$24.7 billion at current exchange rates) and the budget for six medium- There are four kinds of ? oating ice, [1] sea ice, [2] ice formed on land and found ? oating at sea, lake ice and river ice. Fur-[3] [4] heavy icebreakers is currently being ther, there are six stages of ice formation, two of which are the most developed.

relevant to polar icebreaking.

The NSS also includes repair and • Old ice: Second-year ice has survived one summer’s melt or multi- re? t projects of existing icebreakers, year ice which has survived at least two summer’s melt and is up to including three medium class icebreak- 3-meters or more in thickness.

ers (two at Newdock Shipyard and one • First year sea ice of not more than one winter’s growth, ranging from 0.3-2-metersthick.

at DF Barnes), and life extensions of seven icebreakers (at Davie Quebec,

Big Beautiful Bill Act. Drilling down to support increased maritime activity in

Ontario Shipyards, Newdock Shipyard, speci? c Arctic initiatives, the Depart- the Polar regions. This issue has been

Verrault Quebec, Seaspan Vancouver ment of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean addressed in a further Presidential and Ocean Industries Quebec).

Management seeks to align to the White Memorandum in October 2025 iden-

House initiative for promoting energy tifying that the “United States Coast

USA independence through development of Guard’s ? eet of icebreakers and Arctic-

The U.S. currently only operates

Arctic energy and marine minerals . capable vessels remains insuf? cient to one heavy (the 1976-built Polar Star),

However, the United States is belat- meet current operational demands and two medium icebreaking vessels (the edly coming to the party, where coun- presents a national security risk”. The 2000-built Healy and the 2012-built tries like Canada, Russia and Finland memorandum, signed in the presence

Storis, the former ECO Aiviq which have advanced the supply chains to of the president of Finland, further was converted to a medium icebreaker in 2024), three polar research vessels, three polar security cutters and nine

USCG Requirement for ASCs and Davie and Rauma Marine Contractors Designs

Coast Guard Great Lakes icebreakers (with a further vessel idle/laid-up).

Requirement USCG Requirement Davie MPPS 100 RMC MPI

Dimensions (L x B x D in feet) 360x67x21 328x69x22.9

There is currently only one icebreaker,

Range (nm)/endurance (days) 6,500/60 n/a 90 days a polar security cutter (Polar Sentinel)

Polar Class Not stated PC4 PC3 being built at Bollinger (originally

Propulsion power Not stated 7.2MW 13MW

Total power Not stated 10.1 MW 22MW started when the yard was Halter Ma-

Crew/passengers Not stated 50 124 rine with an original delivery date of

Source: Intelatus Global Partners interpretation of data from Arctic Today and Reuters 2024 and a current estimated delivery of 2030), under construction in the

USA, with two sister vessels under

U.S. Icebreakers design and budget development.

Sgni? cant attention was paid in April 2025, when the U.S. White House is- sued a key Executive Order demanding the creation of a maritime Action Plan to revitalize U.S. maritime industries.

One the main elements of the order addressed ensuring “the security and leadership of Arctic Waterways” by

America, through building icebreakers in U.S. shipbuilding yards, given that all U.S. Navy and Coast Vessels are required by law to be built domestically.

The Executive Order has been followed by a $8.6 billion budget for new ice- breaker construction within July’s One

Source: Intelatus Global Partners www.marinelink.com 57

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