How The U.S. Fell Behind Russia And China In Polar Icebreakers And Trump’s $8.6B Plan To Fix It

[0:01] This is where the ice has decided to stack up this winter. [0:04] Because this is where most of the vessels have had trouble, we've had to even break more ice. [0:09] This nearly 40-year-old Coast Guard vessel is crashing through about a foot of ice on New York's Hudson River. [0:16] Icebreakers like this provide safe passage for cargo ships on frozen northeast waterways and the Great Lakes. [0:23] Even larger polar icebreakers patrol the Arctic and Antarctica, where they are able to slice through up to 21 feet of ice. [0:31] These vessels are in high demand as warming temperatures and melting ice open new Arctic trade routes, saving shippers both time and money. [0:41] They are also vital for national security. [0:43] Icebreakers are essential to the United States because of the Arctic Circle. [0:48] As the ice continues to melt, what we have is a passage from... [0:53] Asia to the east coast of the United States that is the most quickest and most direct route. [0:59] And who controls this Northwest Passage is going to be essential in the future. [1:04] But the U.S. polar icebreaker fleet has fallen behind. [1:08] The U.S. only has three polar icebreakers, including one nearly two decades past her designed life. [1:15] Russia, by comparison, has more than 40, eight of which are nuclear-powered. [1:19] China has at least four, with more on the way. [1:23] Our country is tremendously short on icebreaking capacity. [1:27] In an effort to revitalize the fleet in 2025, President Trump announced plans for 11 new polar icebreakers to bolster Arctic security. [1:37] Four ships would be built in Finland, seven in the U.S. [1:41] Delivery of the first ship is expected in 2028. [1:44] We only have one icebreaker in all of that millions and millions of acres. [1:49] We only have one icebreaker. [1:51] These Arctic icebreakers... [1:52] These Arctic icebreakers... [1:53] These Arctic icebreakers are the security cutters that the Coast Guard is building, [1:55] provide the sovereignty in sort of the freedom of navigation capability and capacity [2:02] in that region that we currently do not have. [2:05] And so if you're not there, you can't exert presence. [2:07] You can't look out for the interests of the United States. [2:10] So what will melting Arctic sea ice mean for commercial shippers and national security? [2:15] And how does the U.S. plan to revive its dormant icebreaker shipbuilding industry? [2:27] Coast Guard Cutters Sycamore, [2:28] Sycamore from the Sturgeon Bay, CGU 111, good morning. [2:32] On a cold February morning at this dock [2:35] in New York's Hudson Valley, [2:36] the Coast Guard's 140-foot Sturgeon Bay icebreaker [2:40] launches at dawn. [2:41] Bingo! [2:43] On top of its polar icebreakers, [2:46] the U.S. Coast Guard operates 21 domestic icebreakers [2:49] as well as another 11 ships [2:51] that have icebreaking capabilities. [2:54] These vessels are less complex [2:56] than what is needed for polar missions. [2:58] We actually don't cut through the ice in a straight line. [3:02] It's a little bit more of like a Pac-Man style. [3:05] We are at the peak of what the Coast Guard calls [3:08] the ice season. [3:09] This vessel has been out since early January [3:12] and will run through March [3:15] to ensure that commerce will be flowing on the Hudson River. [3:18] Today's assignment cut a path for cargo ships [3:21] transiting the frozen waterway [3:23] and rescue vessels stuck in ice. [3:25] This winter, parts of the U.S. [3:27] experienced unusually low temperatures [3:28] and lots of ice making river transits [3:31] particularly hazardous. [3:32] This season is significantly worse [3:35] in terms of the ice conditions. [3:37] We're doing more direct assists, [3:39] freeing vessels that are beset in ice [3:41] in just a few days than we did the entirety of last season. [3:44] It's our responsibility to keep the traffic flowing. [3:48] And while that's important is that, you know, [3:50] even if only one vessel's having trouble, [3:54] if they have trouble in the wrong spot, [3:56] they can jam up the whole river. [3:57] And that cargo is vital. [3:59] It's important. [3:59] The primary good transiting is home heating oil. [4:03] The Northeastern U.S. consumes 85% [4:07] of the country's heating oil. [4:08] 90% of that oil is delivered [4:10] on a U.S. Coast Guard-maintained waterway. [4:13] We're approaching a fuel terminal [4:15] that is currently iced over. [4:17] We need to break that ice to allow the barge [4:19] to actually connect to the fuel terminal. [4:22] With a crew of less than 20, [4:23] the Sturgeon Bay covers about 70 to 100 miles daily. [4:28] The most difficult part is when you're doing those direct [4:29] assists. [4:31] It's going to be one where we're ripping 10 knots, [4:33] 20 yards off the hull of an oil barge. [4:36] We're getting just a few yards off of another vessel [4:38] going at high speed and high power. [4:41] But like its polar fleet, [4:42] the Coast Guard's domestic fleet is aging. [4:45] More than half of the agency's 21 domestic icebreakers [4:48] were commissioned in the 1960s, including two from 1961. [4:53] Without the Sturgeon Bay and other icebreaking assets, [4:56] it is possible that those deliveries would not occur. [4:59] And the Coast Guard's mission is to ensure that the Sturgeon [5:00] Bay doesn't stop at the U.S. border. [5:03] The U.S. Coast Guard's mission in ensuring the fluidity [5:06] of trade expands beyond the rivers and the waterways [5:10] across the United States. [5:12] It also expands to the polar regions. [5:16] Eight countries sit on the edge of the Arctic, [5:18] an area about 5.5 million square miles, [5:21] or more than one and a half times the size [5:23] of the continental U.S. [5:25] With Arctic sea ice decreasing about 38,000 square miles [5:29] annually, the once remote and impenetrable [5:32] region is now seeing an uptick in vessel traffic. [5:35] More than 1,800 ships entered the Arctic polar area [5:38] in 2025, a 40% increase from 2013. [5:42] Those ships traveled 11.9 million nautical miles, [5:46] a 95% increase during the same period. [5:49] Crude oil tanker transits increased 396% [5:52] during that period, while bulk carrier transits [5:55] increased 156%. [5:57] Shorter distances mean less travel time, [6:00] lower fuel consumption, [6:02] and lower costs for shippers. [6:04] There are also serious national security implications. [6:07] From an infrastructure and from a military power [6:11] and influence perspective, it is vital that the U.S. [6:14] has the capacity to operate in these regions. [6:16] The Northwest Passage and the Northeast Passage [6:19] are the two main routes. [6:20] The Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic [6:22] and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic. [6:25] Just in terms of the importance of that Northwest Passage [6:28] and the opening of that sea route, [6:30] sort of north of Canada, [6:32] coming from the Arctic Ocean over to the North Atlantic, [6:36] it saves about 4,500 nautical miles in transit time [6:41] from one side of the United States to the other. [6:45] The more popular Northeast Passage [6:47] connects Europe and Asia along the northern shores of Russia. [6:51] That trip is one-third of the distance [6:53] of the traditional route through the Suez Canal. [6:57] Melting ice could soon provide other benefits, too. [7:00] The Arctic holds an estimated $1 trillion in minerals. [7:03] The Arctic holds an estimated $1 trillion in minerals. [7:04] 30% of the world's undiscovered gas reserves [7:08] and 13% of its undiscovered oil reserves. [7:11] Maybe 30% of the unused resources of the globe [7:14] are in the Arctic region. [7:15] One of the things that people don't often realize [7:17] is the competition for fishery resources around the globe [7:21] continues to increase, [7:23] and it's an important part of our own economic prosperity [7:26] to ensure responsible fisheries management in that area. [7:31] That has a number of countries scrambling [7:34] for polar icebreakers. [7:36] China, a near-Arctic nation, [7:38] has seen an unprecedented number of military [7:41] and research vessels operating in or near [7:44] the U.S. Arctic waters in 2025. [7:48] The investment into icebreakers is going to be essential [7:51] on who controls the North Sea Passage [7:53] and also for Arctic and Arctic security. [7:56] We see a lot of developments in many nations [8:02] with an interest to go and operate, [8:04] to be present in the Arctic. [8:07] And when you want to be present in the Arctic, [8:10] you need to have icebreakers. [8:13] The Coast Guard is a branch of the U.S. military [8:15] whose role includes maintaining military readiness [8:18] at the poles, enforcing treaties, [8:21] facilitating the movement of goods, [8:22] and providing support for vessels, ports, [8:25] waterways, and coastal security. [8:27] To accomplish its polar mission in Antarctica and the Arctic, [8:31] it has just three icebreakers, the Storus, [8:34] a 360-foot-long, medium-sized icebreaker. [8:39] Entered service in 2025, it is the first polar icebreaker [8:43] added to the Coast Guard's fleet in over two decades. [8:47] The Healy, the Coast Guard's largest icebreaker, [8:50] was commissioned in 1999. [8:52] In recent years, it has been hit [8:54] with electrical fires and mechanical issues. [8:57] The reason that we have fallen so far behind [9:00] in the race to the Arctic, or for the icebreakers, [9:04] is basically because of the fact that we have a lot of icebreakers. [9:05] It's basically funding. [9:06] The United States Coast Guard operates our polar icebreakers. [9:11] They've been plagued by problems. [9:12] They've been plagued by maintenance issues. [9:14] They've been plagued by trying to get proper supplies. [9:17] The 50-year-old Polar Star [9:19] recently completed its mission to Antarctica. [9:21] Its job there? [9:22] Help resupply vessels reach [9:24] the American Antarctic Research Station, [9:27] which houses about 1,000 people. [9:29] Cutting a channel to McMurdo Station [9:31] in about five to eight feet of ice [9:34] can feel like an earthquake, [9:35] according to the ship's commanding officer. [9:37] When the ice is lesser, [9:39] that might last one or two days [9:40] to get that initial channel cut. [9:42] Some years when the ice is 30, 40 miles long, [9:45] it can be weeks on end, day and night breaking that ice. [9:48] You can imagine no one gets a lot of sleep. [9:50] To rejuvenate the Coast Guard's polar fleet in 2025, [9:54] Congress allocated $8.6 billion [9:57] to build 11 new icebreakers. [10:00] Finland's Ruma Marine Constructions [10:02] will build two of the ships. [10:03] Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana [10:06] will build the first icebreaker [10:07] at the Helsinki shipyard in 2024, [10:09] and shipbuilder Davey will build [10:11] two Arctic security cutters [10:13] at its facility in Helsinki [10:15] and another three at its shipyard in Texas. [10:18] According to the company, [10:19] it will take about two years [10:20] to build the first icebreaker [10:22] at the Helsinki shipyard [10:23] as it ramps up production in Texas. [10:25] Our plan is to invest over $700 million, [10:28] maybe up to a billion dollars, [10:29] between our two sites here in Texas. [10:31] A lot of that investment will go toward [10:33] upgrading the facilities, [10:35] upgrading the physical infrastructures. [10:36] We're going to build [10:37] about 1% of all the world's icebreakers [10:39] has been built in Helsinki shipyard in Finland. [10:41] The ships what we are sending up into the Arctic, [10:44] they need to be operational themselves, [10:47] and the kind of endurance for the ships [10:49] needs to be 60 to 90 days. [10:51] They are long missions. [10:53] You don't have fuel supply. [10:54] You don't have food supply. [10:56] You don't have any external supplies available. [10:59] Another challenge, [11:00] the U.S. hasn't constructed a heavy icebreaker in 50 years. [11:04] The workforce, the core of the workforce, [11:06] the foundations are here. [11:07] The infrastructure itself is a bit tired, [11:09] a bit worn down. [11:10] To train its shipbuilders, [11:12] Davey plans to send some workers in Texas to Finland [11:15] to learn alongside colleagues there. [11:17] And likewise, when we get to building ships here in the U.S., [11:20] we will ask our Helsinki employees to come to Texas to help. [11:25] That cooperation could be key [11:27] if the U.S. hopes to beef up its Arctic presence. [11:30] According to one analysis, [11:31] most of the Arctic Ocean could become ice-free [11:35] during the summer months by the year 2050. [11:37] It's going to get worse before it gets better, [11:39] because once some of this fast ice breaks loose, [11:42] it's going to become a big mess. [11:44] And the icebreakers are going to really have to go to work then [11:47] to keep commerce flowing.