Canada, U.S. and Finland form pact to build icebreakers for Arctic

The United States, Canada and Finland have entered into a trilateral pact to build icebreakers for the Arctic region, the three countries said in a joint statement Thursday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington.

The agreement also involves the sharing of expertise, information and capabilities among the partner countries.

«This partnership will strengthen the shipbuilding industries in each nation with the goal of creating good-paying jobs in shipyards, marine equipment manufacturers and many other related services across all three countries,» the statement said.

The countries said they are also open to other countries joining them and the utility of the icebreakers is not limited to the Far North.

«In the Arctic, new, faster shipping lanes hold the potential to create new economic opportunities and drive down shipping costs. And in the Antarctic, our partnership can also foster increased scientific research and international collaboration,» the statement said.

Both Canada and the United States have been struggling to rebuild their icebreaking fleets, mostly heavy or polar class icebreakers.

Under Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy, a program was launched more than a decade ago, but the company in charge of the project, Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver, reported last May that design of the new vessel is only about 70 per cent complete.

Separately, Quebec-based Chantier Davie Canada Inc., a.k.a. Davie Shipbuilding, has been given a contract to design and build a fleet of seven heavy icebreakers, one of them a polar class, and two hybrid-powered ferries under a program that is expected to cost $8.5 billion.

Eight years ago, the Liberal government was warned in a report done for Transport Canada that the country's