BREAKING: White House selects Seaspan design for six U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Security Cutters, signs MOU with Davies for five POLAR100 as well.
Construction to begin immediately in both Finland and the United States with eventual transition to full production in the United States
Oct. 9, 2025 — North Vancouver, BC — At a White House event today, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced that Bollinger Shipyards, in partnership with Rauma Marine Constructions (Rauma), Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan), and Aker Arctic Technology Inc. (Aker Arctic), has been selected for the design and construction of six Arctic Security Cutters (ASC). The Bollinger-led team will leverage the mature and production-ready Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI) design, developed by Seaspan and Aker Arctic for allied missions in extreme polar environments.
“Today’s award is a testament to President Trump’s leadership and his historic investment in America’s maritime industrial base,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “We appreciate the trust President Trump has placed in the skilled men and women of Bollinger Shipyards and stand ready to begin construction on these critical vessels on day one. The Arctic Security Cutter will enable the United States to rapidly project American power, enforce our sovereignty, and reassert American dominance in the arctic.”
Bollinger and its partners will be responsible for the construction of six state-of-the-art icebreakers. The first three vessels will be built simultaneously by Rauma in Finland and Bollinger in the United States, with production of the remaining three vessels to be built in the United States. Delivery of the first three vessels is expected within 36 months of the contract award.
“The United States Coast Guard is placing its trust in Rauma Marine Constructions’ proven shipbuilding capability. With a hot production line and our ice-class experience, we are ready to deliver the Arctic Security Cutters on an accelerated timeline in close cooperation with our U.S. partner and allied industry. Together, we will provide the Coast Guard with the world’s most capable Arctic security vessels,” said Mika Nieminen, CEO of Rauma Marine Constructions.
The award delivers on President Trump’s and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s calls to rebuild U.S. polar capacity, strengthen the industrial base, and secure long-term American presence in the Arctic.
“Thanks to President Trump, this historic Memorandum of Understanding is a great win for our state that further cements Southeast Louisiana as a leader in America’s domestic shipbuilding industry,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). “I am proud to represent the only shipbuilder in the United States in Bollinger Shipyards that has the capability, capacity and expertise to begin construction on these critical vessels on day one that will project American power and dominance in the Arctic.”
The Seaspan-Aker MPI design has already undergone significant engineering, testing, and integration work, enabling the team to proceed immediately to production. The partnership structure ensures speed to delivery, cost certainty, and seamless interoperability with the Canadian Coast Guard.
“Seaspan is extremely proud to work hand in hand with our American and Finnish partners, Bollinger, Aker and Rauma, to provide the U.S. Coast Guard with a state-of-the-art icebreaker design that is mission ready for extreme ice conditions and will fortify and strengthen Arctic security,” says John McCarthy, CEO Seaspan Shipyards. “This contract award demonstrates Seaspan’s world-class marine engineering and design capabilities on the global stage, and further expands North America’s capacity to design, build, and export Arctic-going vessels.”
“Aker Arctic is honored to bring our proven icebreaker expertise to this partnership. The ASC program is a milestone for allied Arctic collaboration, and we are proud to help deliver world-class capability for the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Mika Hovilainen, CEO of Aker Arctic.
Under the ICE Pact trilateral framework between the United States, Canada, and Finland, this program represents a model for allied industrial collaboration. The parallel construction of the first three vessels at Rauma and Bollinger will rapidly accelerate early delivery while ensuring a stable foundation for full domestic production in the United States. Bollinger will assume full program leadership for U.S.-based construction and long-term sustainment.
With the ability to break four feet of ice, travel 12,000 nautical miles, and operate for over 60 days, the ASC is purpose-built to support the evolving mission needs of the U.S. Coast Guard in the harshest conditions. Additionally, its shared multi-mission design with the Canadian Coast Guard fleet will create the largest class of icebreaking capability in the world, optimizing interoperability and maintenance support. The ASC fleet will enable year-round access to polar regions for national defense, maritime sovereignty, scientific research and search and rescue operations. With this new class of vessels, the United States takes a major step forward in asserting leadership in the Arctic.
In addition to the Bollinger-led team, Canada’s Davie Shipyards will also contribute to the ASC program by building a separate class of vessels on their fourth-generation Multi-Purpose Polar Support Ship (MPPS) design.
About Bollinger Shipyards
Bollinger Shipyards (www.bollingershipyards.com) has an 80-year history as a leading designer and builder of high-performance military patrol boats and salvage vessels, research vessels, ocean-going double hull barges, offshore oil field support vessels, tugboats, rigs, lift boats, inland waterways push boats, barges, and other steel and aluminum products from its new construction shipyards as part of the U. S. industrial base. Bollinger is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of America region.
About Rauma Shipyards
Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) is a leading European shipbuilder specializing in ice-capable vessels and naval platforms. Based in Finland, at the heart of a world-class network of components and technology suppliers, RMC combines advanced engineering, modern facilities, and proven Arctic experience to deliver mission-critical ships on time and to specification. RMC is fully capable of supporting U.S. defense and security programs.
About Seaspan Shipyards
Seaspan is a leader in Canada’s ship design, engineering, building and ship repair industry. With modern facilities and a dedicated workforce of approximately 4,800 in North Vancouver and Victoria, the company has proven itself to be a trusted and strategic partner on a range of complex projects for both government and the private sector. With a total orderbook of 21 icebreaking vessels — including up to 16 MPIs for the Canadian Coast Guard — Seaspan is Canada’s foremost leader in design and construction of Polar Class vessels.
About Aker Arctic Technology Inc.
Aker Arctic is the only company in the world that is focusing on icebreaker and ice going vessel design and testing. In the past 20 years, 59 icebreaking ships have been built in various shipyards based on our designs, more than 20 now under construction or planned to be built, most in North America. Aker Arctic has its own ice test basin supporting the designing of complex vessels for extremely harsh conditions – every ship design and solution is tested for ice conditions before the ship even touches the sea. Aker Arctic and its predecessors have completed over 600 ice model test series and over 150 full scale test programs creating unmatched expertise and proven design solutions to ensure the made designs meet the customer mission requirements.
Alex Vicefield statement on signing of MOU for the construction of Icebreakers for the USCG
Proud to have our team at the White House today for the signing of this historic agreement - the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance, especially by James.
For nearly two decades, we watched as Helsinki Shipyard or Arctech, as it was then known - delivered icebreaker after icebreaker. They made building some of the world's most complex vessels look effortless.
It is often said that Finland is an expert in building icebreakers, but in truth, it is Helsinki Shipyard that holds that expertise. In the past 25 years, every icebreaker built in Finland was built there - and there were many.
When Russian ownership made it impossible for the yard to export icebreakers to Russia, we acted fast. Within days we were sitting in Helsinki Shipyard's boardroom negotiating to buy it.
It was nothing short of a coup - bringing the world leader in icebreaker construction, the builder of 50% of the global fleet, back into Western hands.
During due diligence, we were astonished. Their approach to design and construction is unlike anywhere else - honed by decades of continuous icebreaker production. Every detail, from process flow to the design of their offices overlooking the outfitting quav is engineered for speed and precision. We knew instantly that this expertise could help rebuild the West's icebreaker fleet - and more.
For Davie Shipbuilding, our Canadian facility leading the renewal of Canada's icebreaker fleet, that expertise was invaluable. But James had even bigger ideas. He wanted to bring it to the United States.
For the past two years he worked tirelessly with the White House, demonstrating how we could 'Make American Shipbuilding Great Again' by applying the proven systems perfected at Helsinki Shipyard.
Those discussions between the U.S., Finland and Canada ultimately culminated in the ICE Pact - a trilateral agreement to strengthen Western shipbuilding and Arctic capability.
Under President Trump's leadership, America is once again serious about rebuilding its shipbuilding capacity - and especially about the Arctic. We are proud to follow that lead, investing in the U.S. and bringing proven technology, experience and designs to support America's resurgence.
Our Arctic Security Cutter - now in its fourth generation, upgraded each time by Helsinki Shipyard - is a proven design, built seven times previously, for the high Arctic and the harshest conditions on Earth.
Today's announcement is a testament to President Trump's leadership, to Helsinki's mastery in Arctic shipbuilding, and to the Inocea Group's commitment to restoring Western industrial strength.
We are proud to play our part in this American shipbuilding renaissance.
Noah Note: Wow. I wasn't expecting this today. Not only has Seaspan been awarded a contract but also Davies, both of which will provide their own designs to fulfill the USCG requirements for the Arctic Security Cutter.
Seaspan is essentially offering the MPI with a 25mm Mark 38 like the AOPS. I wonder if others will cry about this too? This came as a surprise to me, completely out of nowhere. Not only does this mean that the USCG will be running at least one of the same designs as us, but they will now get it before us.
On the other note Davies is offering a seperate design to the Program Icebreaker they're building for us. Originally known as the Multi-Purpose Polar Support Ship (MPPS), now the POLAR100. This PC 3 vessel traces its lineage back to the FESCO Sakhalin.
Peter Rybski wrote an excellent piece on this vessel. He also wrote a wonderful summary of the Arctic Security Cutter program and the offerings.
I highly recommend Peter. He is awesome, and the best Icebreaker expert we have on this site. Eleven vessels is a lot more than what was planned, and is a legitimate shock to me.
I got woken up by my wife ao I could get this out, so I'm still half asleep. All I can say is wow. Ill have more thoughts tomorrow.
I wonder the reasoning why the USCG chose to delete the forward crane on their MPI version. Nevertheless the MPI is a very aesthetically pleasing design. Can’t wait to see how it performs in the future.
I think this is a good thing. it will de-risk out builds when we are done our two polars