Report: Finland is Frontrunner Negotiating for USCG Icebreaker Order
According to reports in the Finnish media, the country’s Rauma Marine Constructions shipyard is in negotiations with the United States to build a series of new medium icebreakers. A week ago, the USCG published a Request for Information for what were termed small icebreakers (370 feet in length) seeking shipyards that could deliver within three years of a contract award.
Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat broke the news on Friday, April 18, saying it had confirmed the negotiations with three unnamed sources. Yle News has also picked up the story citing discussions in March between Finnish President Alexander Stubb and President Donald Trump. The newspaper reports just over a week ago Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen discussed the matter with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to the report, the Rauma shipyard would build up to five medium-sized icebreakers, with the order valued at around €2.5 billion ($2.85 million). Helsingin Sanomat says that exploratory discussions are also underway regarding three larger vessels.
Rauma, located in southwest Finland on the Gulf of Bothnia, highlights on its website that three multi-purpose icebreakers were constructed in Rauma between 1993 and 1998 at the former Aker Finnyards and have been serviced at Rauma Marine. The yard also has experience with ice-strengthened hulls including for the ferry Aurora Botnia built in 2021.
The yard has been building ferries, including for Tasmania, and recently completed the hull for the first of four multi-role corvettes for the Finnish Navy. The first vessel is due to launch this spring and the second has started construction with the yard highlighted the vessels will be able to “operate in icy conditions.” The yard built a new enclosed construction hall for this project and has been positioning itself for expected orders to replace existing icebreakers in Scandinavia.
RMC, which was founded in 2014, is entirely Finnish-owned. It reports it currently has orders till 2028 valued at over one billion euros ($1.14 billion) as of October 2024.
Yle cautions in its report that the negotiations do not guarantee a deal. It says the U.S. Coast Guard has approached several shipyards around the world to assess their capacity to deliver icebreakers within 36 months. However, it also quotes Foreign Minister Valtonen who said after meeting Rubio, "We will likely have concrete news fairly soon."
A deal would be in keeping with the 2024 agreement between the United States, Canada, and Finland to jointly develop icebreakers. Canadian shipbuilder Davie was reported to be a driving force behind the agreement. Davie in 2023 acquired Helsinki Shipyard, which it was highlighted has built more than 50 percent of the global icebreakers. The Helsinki Shipyard was scheduled to build a new icebreaker for Russia, but the deal was blocked after the start of the war in Ukraine and that contributed to the financial collapse of the yard.