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breaker ? eet and an aging ? eet of Great Lakes icebreakers.

The U.S. has ordered the construction of up to 14 Polar and

Arctic vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to address

Arctic security concerns (mainly from Russia and China).

As with Canada, the U.S. intends that icebreaker construc- tion forms part of a wider national plan to reinvigorate do- mestic shipbuilding, supported by ICE Pact partners Canada and Finland.

Outside of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and

Germany operate icebreaking ? eets primarily for supporting

Baltic Sea winter navigation. The Baltic ? eets are generally aging and require replacement over the next 5-10 years. Fin- land and Sweden experience the most severe Baltic ice con- ditions and have developed the Finnish-Swedish Ice Class

Rules (FSICR) to which the major classi? cation societies align for Ice Class vessels. The Finnish icebreaker supply chain (design & engineering ? rms, shipyards, specialist con- tractors and equipment & machinery manufacturers, particu- larly power & propulsion, electrical backbones, interiors and navigation) is world leading in track record and experience.

Other European nations, such as France, Germany, Italy,

Norway and the UK maintain small Polar capable mainly re- search icebreakers and have mostly completed or are in the process of ? eet renewal programs.

Several Asian countries are developing Polar icebreaker ca- pability, led by China that is declares itself to be a near Arctic country. China is expanding its Polar research ? eet to support existing and develop new commercial shipping routes in the

Arctic and the exploration & production of energy and mineral

Autoship MR Sept2024.indd 1 7/18/2024 2:42:53 PM resources. China is planning increasingly powerful icebreaker capability, including nuclear icebreakers, developed with the support of Russia. Despite maximizing local content, the grow- ing Chinese market offers an opportunity for European design- ers and specialist ship machinery and equipment manufacturers.

Japan and South Korea are both building new Polar re- search icebreaker vessels and South Korean yards have re- cently won the Swedish tender to build a new Baltic escort icebreaker in competition with Finnish and Norwegian yards.

Argentina, Australia, Chile and South Africa all maintain icebreaking capacity to support Antarctic bases and research.

Argentina is currently planning a new Polar class vessel.

A Positive Trend

Overall, the global icebreaker ? eet is expected to grow, par- ticularly among Arctic, near Arctic and Antarctic nations and strategic powers, providing opportunities to design and en- gineering ? rms, shipyards and ship machinery & equipment manufacturers. Over 20 Polar Class (or Polar Class equiva- lent) are currently under construction with at least 45 addi- tional icebreakers on order or planned for the next 5-10 years.

For more information about the Global Icebreaker Report, please contact [email protected]

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