Overview
- A White House memorandum of understanding commits the U.S. Coast Guard to four Finnish-built Arctic Security Cutters and up to seven more constructed in American yards using Finnish expertise.
- Davie in Galveston, Texas, is slated to build three U.S.-based cutters and Bollinger Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana, will build four, with the first vessel targeted for delivery in 2028.
- The program is estimated at about $6.1 billion, and officials say it will channel billions into the U.S. maritime industrial base and create thousands of skilled trades jobs.
- The administration frames the move as a national security step to strengthen U.S. presence in the Arctic as Russia and China expand activity, with Finland tapped for its leading role in icebreaker design and production.
- Reporting on current U.S. polar capacity differs, with the Coast Guard commissioning the CGC Storis in August to expand its fleet as a White House official cited only two operational cutters, and commercial contracts and schedules are still to come.