Think tank report sees promising impact from ICE Pact

By Mary Mae Balasanos

The Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact – a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada, Finland and the United States – has received a promising report from think tank Wilson Center.

“If successful, ICE Pact will serve as a model for how government procurement programmes for military vessels can act as an important tool of industrial policy to help US shipyards sell vessels to a wider array of customers,” the report noted, as quoted by the gCaptain.

Icebreaker development 

The MOU focuses on icebreaker development, which was reported as a chance to revive shipbuilding in the United States.

“The ICE Pact is the start of a procurement-to-production on-ramp that will help bend downwards the cost of building ships in America,” said Wilson Center’s Polar Institute technical advisor William Henagan.

According to the report, polar icebreakers may contribute to breaking the slowdown of American shipbuilding.

The report also noted that the best way to make progress is for the US government to continue concentrating on the development of ships such as icebreakers, underwater construction vessels, unmanned underwater vehicles and underwater cable, as well as ship repair.

“The best tool we have today to strengthen the shipbuilding industrial base in America is procurement, but we also need new government investment, adjustment to trade policy, and changes in labor policy. We need to force military service branches to think about industrial policy – not just following bureaucratic procedures to put warships on the water,” Henagan added.

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Shipbuilding challenge for US

In a world where Chinese shipbuilders are becoming more and more dominant, American shipyards face a significant task in reviving American shipbuilding and sea power.

In 2024 alone, data showed that 75 percent of new commercial ship orders came from Chinese shipyards.

It was reported that the complicated contracting and acquisition regulations, along with the absence of long-term funding stability, are major obstacles for US builders.

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