Finland is building a new fleet of icebreakers for the US but President Donald Trump’s plans for Greenland, which he covets, and tense US-EU ties have raised concerns over the deal.
The US coast guard currently operates three ageing vessels. In October, Trump and Helsinki announced that the United States coast guard will procure 11 icebreakers. Four vessels will be built in Finnish shipyards, and the remaining seven in the United States.
The US order — estimated at $6.1 billion — is a welcome boost for Finland, where unemployment is at a record high. But Trump’s desire to acquire strategically-located Greenland has now raised “more and more” suspicions about the deal.
Trump’s long-standing territorial designs on Greenland have triggered the most serious crisis in the history of US-led military alliance NATO. The US president last week backed off threats of using force to seize Greenland.