U.S. Icebreaker design deal awarded to Vancouver shipyard 

January 9,2026

RED FM News Desk

A Vancouver shipyard has signed a deal to provide the U.S. Coast Guard with the same icebreaker design it originally developed for Canada. 

North Vancouver–based Seaspan Shipyards announced this week that the agreement covers designs for up to six 100-metre multi-purpose icebreakers, capable of operating in ice up to 1.2 metres thick and traveling roughly 22,000 kilometres. 

Seaspan has been developing the icebreaker designs under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy since 2020. Canada plans to acquire 16 of these vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard, with the first ship expected in 2030 and a project budget of $14.2 billion. 

While Seaspan declined an interview, spokesperson Abigail Saxton called the deal the company’s first-ever export sale. Questions on the contract’s financial value were referred to the U.S. Coast Guard, which has not commented. Saxton noted the purchase will foster collaboration between Canadian and American crews using the shared platform. 

“The multi-purpose icebreaker establishes a single class of versatile, multi-mission vessels for both countries, creating the largest icebreaker class in the world,” Saxton said. 

The deal includes a partnership with U.S.-based Bollinger Shipyards, which will build two vessels, and Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions Oy, which will construct the remaining four. Finnish-built ships are expected in 2028, with the first American-built icebreaker following in 2029. 

Seaspan emphasized that the design, developed in collaboration with Finland, was completed almost entirely in Canada, allowing U.S. construction to start immediately. 

The U.S. Coast Guard says the new icebreakers will enhance its ability to secure Alaskan waters and respond to Arctic emergencies. “Equipping the Coast Guard with Arctic security cutters will help reassert American maritime dominance there,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. 

The agreement follows a trilateral deal signed last November between Canada, the U.S., and Finland to expand icebreaker fleets and strengthen Arctic sovereignty.