1 of 3 | President Donald Trump, left, greets Finnish President Alexander Stubb outside the West Wing at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo
Finnish President Alexander Stubb visited the White House on Thursday to sign a deal to sell four icebreakers to the United States and build seven more at U.S. shipyards.
President Donald Trump and Stubb announced the deal at the White House ahead of them signing the deal for the vessels that are designed to create paths through icefloes to support commercial and military vessels, The Hill reported.
“We negotiated a pretty tough price,” Trump told media. “We need these ships very badly because we have a lot of territory.”
The deal will cost $6.1 billion and would greatly expand the Coast Guard’s current fleet of three icebreakers, while enhancing the nation’s national security and creating thousands of jobs, according to Fox Business.
The first vessel would arrive by 2028 after being built by the world’s leading producer of icebreakers.
“It is great that Finnish expertise is trusted,” Stubb said in a social media post, as reported by gCaptain.
He said the Trump administration negotiated directly with Finnish shipbuilding firms to secure the deal.
Finnish shipbuilders will construct four vessels in Finland and help Bollinger Shipyards to construct four more in Houma, La.
Shipbuilder Davie in Galveston, Texas, will build three more.
The deal comes after the Coast Guard received $8.4 billion in the Republican-named Big Beautiful Bill Act to renew and expand its icebreaker fleet.
China and Russia are increasing their activities and influence over the Arctic region, and Trump has said he would like the U.S. Coast Guard to have a fleet of 40 modern icebreakers.
The president said he also would like them to help secure Greenland against possible aggression by China, Russia or other nations.
Trump previously suggested the United States should purchase control of Greenland from Denmark, which declined the overture.
The Coast Guard added its first polar icebreaker in 25 years in August after commissioning the CGC Storis, which was converted from a former commercial vessel.
