On 13 November 2024, Finland, the United States and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact) initiative in Washington. With the initiative, the countries launched cooperation to develop best-in-class Arctic and polar icebreakers and other capabilities.
By signing the MoU, the countries commit to deepening collaboration on icebreaker development in all three countries by sharing knowledge, information and resources. This will enable Finland to strengthen its position in the supply chain for critical infrastructure in North America and further develop its Arctic expertise.
In Finland, the ICE Pact initiative is being prepared under the leadership of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in cooperation with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Education and Culture. Reko-Antti Suojanen has been appointed the national head of ICE Pact cooperation in Finland. The preparation is carried out in four working groups led by:
- Working group A Information exchange, Senior Specialist Jarkko Toivola
- Working group B Labour force development, Senior Ministerial Adviser Satu Paasilehto
- Working group C International relations, Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Sannamaaria Vanamo
- Working Group D Research and product development, Senior Ministerial Adviser Maija Lönnqvist
Request for Information on the Implementation and Participation in the ICE Pact Collabo-ration: results of the survey
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment asked companies and research institutes their interest in participating in the ICE Pact icebreaker cooperation. This inquiry was done through survey by the 16.5.2025.
As a result of the survey following main observations were made:
- 31 organizations expressed their interest to participate in ICE Pact
- two third (2/3) on the organizations have prior experience and references on icebreaker projects
- 90% of the respondents have previous experience on US and Canadian business
- interest to participate was expressed by the companies in the different area of industry value chain as well as universities and research organizations
Source: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
