While US President Donald Trump continues to insist that the US should own Greenland, his broader focus on the Arctic region has led Washington to order new icebreakers.
For these ships, which can navigate seas covered in solid ice, the US has turned to the world expert - Finland.
Temperatures are below zero inside Aker Arctic Technology's ice lab, as a scale model of an icebreaker floats beneath a 70-meter-long simulation tank.
It cuts a clean channel through the frozen surface of the water. Undergoing testing at a facility in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, this is a design for the country's next generation of icebreakers.
"It is essential to have sufficient structural strength and engine power," says ice performance engineer Riikka Matala.
Mika Hovilainen, the firm's executive director, adds that the shape of the ship is also essential, reports the Telegraph.
"You have to have a body shape that breaks the ice by bending it down. It's not cutting, it's not slicing," he says.
Finland is the undisputed world leader when it comes to icebreakers. Finnish companies have designed 80% of all those currently in operation and 60% are built in shipyards in Finland.
The country is leading the way out of necessity, explains Maunu Visuri, president and CEO of the Finnish state-owned company Arctia, which operates a fleet of eight icebreakers.
"Finland is the only country in the world where all ports can freeze over during the winter," he says, adding that 97% of all goods in the country are imported by sea.
During the colder months, icebreakers keep Finland's ports open and work as guides for large cargo ships.
"It's really a necessity for Finland. We say that Finland is an island," he added.
It was this expertise that led Trump to announce in October that the US planned to order four icebreakers from Finland for the US Coast Guard.
Another seven of the ships, which the US calls "Arctic Security Cutters", will be built in the US, using Finnish designs and expertise.
"We are buying the best icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for making them," Trump said.
Under US law, the country's naval and coast guard ships must be built domestically, but in this case the president waived that requirement for national security reasons.
He cited "aggressive military posture and economic intervention by foreign adversaries," by which he means Russia and China.
This US concern comes as climate change continues to make the Arctic Ocean more navigable for cargo ships, at least if icebreakers lead the way by clearing a path.
This opens trade routes from Asia to Europe, either over Russia, or north to Alaska and the Canadian mainland, and down across Greenland.
Reduced ice levels also mean that oil and gas fields under the Arctic are more accessible.
"There's just a lot more traffic in that part of the world now," notes Peter Rybski, a retired US Navy officer and icebreaker expert based in Helsinki.
"In Russia you have an active oil and gas exploration and extraction industry, as well as a new trans-shipment route from Europe to Asia," he added.
Following Trump's announcement of the construction plan last fall, the first contracts were awarded on December 29.
Finland's Rauma Marine Constructions will build two icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard at its shipyard in the Finnish port of Rauma. The first ship is expected to be delivered in 2028.
Four more will be built in Louisiana, with all six diesel-electric vessels using a design from Aker Arctic Technology, along with Canadian partner Seaspan.
The US orders are part of an effort to catch up with Russia's icebreaker fleet. Russia currently has about 40, including eight that are nuclear-powered.
In contrast, the US currently has only three in operation. Meanwhile, China operates about five polar-capable ships.
"None of them are technically icebreakers. But they are increasing their fleet," says Rybski, pointing out that their design does not meet the strict criteria. /Telegraph/
