On October 9, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump and Finnish President Alexander Stubb signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington for the U.S. to acquire 11 icebreaker ships built in collaboration with Finnish shipyards.
Speaking from the Oval Office alongside Stubb, Trump said, “We’re buying the finest icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for making them.”
The deal is valued at approximately $6.1 billion.
Under the agreement: 
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Finland will initially build four of the vessels.
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The remaining seven will be constructed in U.S. shipyards with Finnish technical support.
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The first delivery is expected by 2028.
The agreement comes amid escalating competition in the Arctic, as climate change is rendering the region more accessible and strategically contested. The United States, Russia, China, and the European Union are all intensifying their activities in the area, both for security and resource extraction.
Further details on the US-Finnish agreement in The Financial Times and Reuters.
