Trump Is Spending $7 Billion On 11 Arctic Ships The Coast Guard Didn't Ask For

It was a late night in August when Finland's President Alexander Stubb received an unexpected phone call at his summer residence, about two hours from Helsinki. The caller was US President Donald Trump, and he had icebreakers on his mind.

Trump wanted to buy a fleet of powerful Arctic ships built to smash through thick ice. Those vessels, known as polar icebreakers, had fascinated him for years, according to a report by The New York Times. As melting Arctic ice opens up new shipping routes and exposes valuable mineral resources, Trump saw the ships as a symbol of American power, and he disliked the fact that Russia had far more than the United States.

Just two months later, Trump and Stubb stood together in the Oval Office announcing a deal worth nearly $7 billion to build 11 new icebreakers in Finland and the United States.

Standing beside the Finnish leader, Trump declared, "Other countries have more than we do, and we're buying the finest icebreakers in the world."

Why The Deal Raised Eyebrows

The Coast Guard had previously estimated it needed only four or five heavy polar icebreakers. Yet the administration committed to buying 11. The first four ships would also be built in Finland, meaning Trump had to waive a law that normally requires US national security vessels to be constructed domestically.

The contracts were also awarded without competitive bidding, a process usually reserved for emergencies or highly specialised projects.

According to officials, the decision came straight from the Oval Office.

"The number 11 came directly from the president," Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin E. Lunday told the publication. "This was the president's number and the president's decision."

Billions More Needed Beyond the Ships

Buying the vessels is only part of the cost. Coast Guard documents indicate billions more will be needed to build supporting infrastructure, maintain the fleet and recruit enough personnel to operate the ships. Critics say no long-term funding plan has been presented for those expenses.

Much of the initial funding is expected to come from money allocated for border security under the Republicans' spending package known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill", which gave the administration broad flexibility in how the money could be used.

To avoid competitive bidding, the administration relied on a rarely used "public interest" exemption.

Shelby S. Oakley, director of contracting and national security acquisitions at the US Government Accountability Office, questioned the decision.

"We haven't seen any information or analysis to justify the 11 or to assess the long-term affordability of these decisions," she told the publication.

She compared the situation to "a lottery winner who spends all their money buying the mansion and then goes broke once they realise they don't have the money to maintain it."

White House Defends the Plan

The Trump administration insists the ships are vital for protecting US interests in the Arctic, where geopolitical competition is intensifying.

"President Trump is restoring America's status as a great Arctic power after previous administrations allowed our ships and Arctic capacity to rust and decay," White House budget office spokeswoman Allie McCandless said.

Trump has repeatedly celebrated the project. Speaking to graduates at the US Coast Guard Academy in May, he said, "I'm gonna be there at the dedication. They have been trying to get icebreakers for years and years, and no president was able to provide them with what you need to get it done."

A Fascination That Began More Than Three Decades Ago

Trump's interest in Finnish icebreakers dates back to 1992, long before he entered politics.

At the time, the New York businessman travelled to Helsinki while exploring the possibility of turning a ship into a floating casino. Although he abandoned the idea after realising operating costs would be too high, the visit left a lasting impression.

During the trip, Trump noticed Finnish icebreakers docked nearby. Shipping executives explained that Finland had built around 60 per cent of the world's icebreakers.

"A positive seed about Finland had been planted in his mind," Finnish shipping executive Juha Wiskari later recalled.

Years later, after becoming president, Trump continued talking about the importance of the ships. In 2017, he praised their capabilities, saying no other military service "has the power to break through 21 feet of rock-solid Arctic ice".

The Golf Match That Revived The Plan

The project gathered momentum again after Trump returned to office.

In March 2025, Trump and President Stubb played together in a golf tournament at one of Trump's Florida courses. Stubb, a former member of Finland's national golf team, presented Trump with a framed picture of an icebreaker.

For Finland, the gesture was about more than shipbuilding. Maintaining close ties with Trump also gave Helsinki an opportunity to reinforce support for NATO and encourage continued pressure on Russia.

After the meeting, Trump posted online that Stubb was "a very good player" and announced they would strengthen US-Finland cooperation, including "the purchase and development of a large number of badly needed icebreakers for the U.S."

From Five Ships To Eleven

Congress initially approved $3.5 billion for the project.

Officials were considering two competing proposals, one offering five ships based on a design originally developed for Russia, and another proposing six vessels using a Canadian Coast Guard design.

Instead of choosing one, the administration found additional funding.

White House budget director Russell T. Vought explained, "We ultimately didn't want to have to choose between them."

"The One Big Beautiful Bill had given us an opportunity to do both," he added.

Soon after Congress passed the legislation, Trump phoned Stubb again.

The two countries had previously discussed buying a used Finnish icebreaker. This time, Trump wanted something much bigger.

"I'm not going to buy the used one, because it's too old," Trump reportedly told Stubb. "I want more new ones instead."

Does US Really Need 11 Icebreakers?

Most Arctic experts agree the United States needs more icebreakers. The debate centres on how many.

Trump has frequently compared America's fleet with Russia's.

"We only have one," he complained in 2020. "Russia has 40."

According to Coast Guard figures presented to Congress this year, Russia now operates 56 polar icebreakers, while China has five.

But analysts argue those numbers lack context.

Russia relies heavily on Arctic shipping routes because more than two million people live in its Arctic region. By comparison, fewer than 20,000 people live in Alaska's Arctic communities.

The Coast Guard's own 2023 assessment concluded that four or five heavy polar icebreakers would meet operational needs.

Ronald O'Rourke, who spent nearly two decades analysing the programme for the Congressional Research Service, questioned the logic behind matching Russia's numbers.

"My neighbors have a lot of kids, so they bought a minivan," he said. "Does that mean that my wife and I, who have no kids, also need to buy a minivan?"

A Fast-Tracked Contract

The administration wants the first vessels delivered before Trump's current term ends.

To speed up construction, the Coast Guard bypassed the traditional competitive procurement process by invoking the "public interest" exemption. Under that rule, the agency only needed to notify Congress before signing no-bid contracts.

By the time lawmakers received that notification, the White House had already announced the agreement publicly, and the selected companies had begun promoting their roles in the project.

The result is one of the most ambitious Coast Guard procurement programmes in decades, a deal driven not by a fresh strategic review, critics argue, but by a president determined to expand America's Arctic fleet.