As President Donald Trump insists that the United States needs to seize Greenland, his growing interest in the Arctic region has led Washington to order new icebreakers.

For the construction of these vessels, capable of navigating seas covered in solid ice, the US has turned to World expert: Finland.

At Aker Arctic Technology's ice laboratory, temperatures are below freezing as a scale model of an icebreaker navigates a 70-meter-long simulation tank.

The model cuts a clean channel through the frozen water's surface.

Testing at a facility in Helsinki, Finland's capital, this is a design for the country's next generation of icebreakers.

“It's crucial that it has sufficient structural strength and engine power,” says Riikka Matala, an engineer specializing in ice performance.

Mika Hovilainen, the company's chief executive, adds that the vessel's shape is also critical. “It needs to have a hull shape that breaks the ice by bending it downwards,” he explains. “It doesn't cut or slice it,” he says.

Finland is the undisputed world leader in icebreakers. Finnish companies have designed 80% of all icebreakers currently in operation, and 60% were built in Finnish shipyards. Finland is at the forefront of this sector out of necessity, argues Maunu Visuri, president and CEO of the Finnish state-owned company Arctia, which operates a fleet of eight icebreakers. “It’s the only country in the world where all ports can freeze over during the winter,” he points out, adding that 97% of the goods arriving in the country are imported by sea. New Icebreakers in the Trump Era: During the coldest months, icebreakers keep Finnish ports open and guide large cargo ships. “It’s a vital necessity for Finland. We often say that Finland is an island,” Visuri says.

It was this experience that led Trump to announce in October that the US planned to order four icebreakers from Finland for the US Coast Guard.

Another seven vessels, which the US calls “Arctic security patrols,” will be built in the United States using Finnish designs and technology.

“We are buying the best icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for making them,” Trump declared.

Under US law, the country's Navy and Coast Guard vessels must be built domestically, but in this case, Trump waived this requirement for “national security reasons.”

He cited the “aggressive military attitude and economic intrusion of foreign adversaries,” referring to Russia and China.

This US concern comes at a time when climate change continues to make the Arctic Ocean more navigable for cargo ships, at least if the Icebreakers blaze a trail.

This opens up trade routes from Asia to Europe, either over Russia or north of Alaska and mainland Canada, and around Greenland.

Reducing ice levels also mean that oil and gas fields under the Arctic are more accessible.

“There’s a lot more traffic in that part of the world now,” says Peter Rybski, a retired U.S. Navy officer and icebreaker expert who lives in Helsinki.

“There’s an active oil and gas exploration and extraction industry in Russia, as well as an emerging transshipment route between Europe and Asia,” he adds.

Matching Russia

Following Trump’s preliminary announcement last fall, the first contracts were awarded on December 29.

Finnish company Rauma Marine Constructions will build two icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard at its shipyard in the harbor Finnish shipyard in Rauma.

The first is expected to be delivered in 2028.

Four more will be built in Louisiana, and all six diesel-electric vessels will use a design by Aker Arctic Technology, in collaboration with its Canadian partner Seaspan.

The U.S. orders are part of an effort to match the number of Russian icebreakers.

Russia has about 40, including eight nuclear-powered ones.

In contrast, the U.S. has only three in operation.

China operates about five vessels capable of operating in polar regions.

“None of them are technically icebreakers,” Rybski says, noting that their design doesn’t meet the stringent criteria. “But they are expanding their fleet.”Rybski adds that China has been increasingly sending these “research” vessels into Arctic waters between Alaska and Russia’s far east, including areas the U.S. considers its “exclusive economic zone.” “With limited means to respond, this becomes a problem [for the U.S.],” the expert says. Projecting Power. Trump’s desire to expand his icebreaker fleet goes beyond the practical needs of operating in Arctic seas, according to Lin Mortensgaard, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. In her view, it is also about projecting power. “No matter how many aircraft carriers you have, and no matter how much you use them to threaten other countries, you can’t sail an aircraft carrier through the central Arctic Ocean,” she asserts. “Icebreakers are practically the only type of warship that allows you to demonstrate that you are a “An Arctic state with capabilities in the region. And I think that’s what much of the American discourse is about,” Mortensgaard argues. Back in Finland, Helsinki Shipyard occupies a dock on the capital’s coast. It is the place where half of the world’s icebreakers have been built. It is owned by the Canadian company Davie and also aspires to secure new contracts from the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The geopolitical situation has definitely changed,” says the shipyard's general manager, Kim Salmi.

“We have our eastern neighbor here [Russia]. They are building their own [new] fleet. And the Chinese are building theirs too.”

He adds: “The U.S., Canada, and the Western allies in general are seeking a balance of power.”

Inside a huge shipbuilding hangar, workers cut and weld steel for the shipyard's latest icebreaker, a large-capacity Arctic vessel called Polarmax, destined for the Canadian Coast Guard.

The Finns can build these complex vessels remarkably quickly—between two and a half and three years—thanks to an optimized production method and decades of experience.

“We have been practicing this for over 100 years,” explains Visuri, of Arctia.

“There is a cycle made up of designers, operators, and builders. That's why Finland is the icebreaker superpower.”