Notice2025-03797
Request for U.S. Industry Input Regarding the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 10, 2025
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentMaritime Administration
Abstract
This notice requests information from the public to assist MARAD in determining which shipyards in the United States have the capacity, capability, and readiness to construct ships capable of operating in ice conditions and determining what factors would be necessary to further develop icebreaker ships in the United States. The objectives of the request are to increase the capacity of the United States to design, produce, and maintain polar icebreakers through trilateral collaboration while supporting each country's shipbuilding industrial base.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 45 (Monday, March 10, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 45 (Monday, March 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11647-11648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-03797]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[Docket Number MARAD-2025-0004]
Request for U.S. Industry Input Regarding the Icebreaker
Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact
AGENCY: Maritime Administration (MARAD), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice requests information from the public to assist
MARAD in determining which shipyards in the United States have the
capacity, capability, and readiness to construct ships capable of
operating in ice conditions and determining what factors would be
necessary to further develop icebreaker ships in the United States. The
objectives of the request are to increase the capacity of the United
States to design, produce, and maintain polar icebreakers through
trilateral collaboration while supporting each country's shipbuilding
industrial base.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 9, 2025.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit all comments by only one of the following ways:
[ssquf] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
[ssquf] Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001.
[ssquf] Hand Delivery: W12-140 of the Department of Transportation,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 between 9:00 a.m. and
5:00 p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. The
telephone number is 202-366-9329.
[ssquf] Instructions: You must include the agency name and the
docket number, MARAD-2025-0004, at the beginning of your comments. All
comments received will be posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided.
Note: Input submitted online via <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> is not
immediately posted to the site. It may take several business days
before your submission is posted.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). For information on
DOT's compliance with the Privacy Act, please visit <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/privacy">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Heller, 202-366-1850, or via
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#88ece9fee1eca6e0ede4e4edfac8ece7fca6efe7fe"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="036762756a672d6b666f6f667143676c772d646c75">[email protected]</span></a>; Associate Administrator for Business and
Finance Development, Associate Administrator for Business and Finance
Development, Room W21-318, MARAD, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
A copy of this Notice, all comments received on this Notice, and
all background material may be viewed online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> using the docket number listed above as a search
term. Electronic retrieval assistance and guidance are available at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. An electronic copy of this document also
may be downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register's website at
<a href="https://www.FederalRegister.gov">https://www.FederalRegister.gov</a> and the Government Publishing Office's
database at <a href="http://www.GovInfo.gov">www.GovInfo.gov</a>.
Confidential Business Information
Submissions containing CBI should be sent directly to Mr. David
Heller via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1b7f7a6d727f35737e77777e695b7f746f357c746d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4024213629246e28252c2c253200242f346e272f36">[email protected]</span></a>, or by mail to David Heller,
Associate Administrator for Business and Finance Development, Room W21-
318, MARAD, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Any
comment submissions, including those with CBI, sent via the Federal
eRulemaking Portal will be placed on the public docket without change.
Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act
[[Page 11648]]
(FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure.
If your comments contain CBI that is customarily treated as
private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or
responsive to this RFI, it is important that you clearly designate the
submitted comments as CBI. You should seek to protect any CBI by taking
the following steps: (1) Send CBI information directly to the person
named in the For Further Information Contact section above; (2) Mark
each page of the original document submission containing CBI as
``Confidential''; (3) along with the original document, provide a
second copy with the CBI redacted or deleted; and (4) explain why the
information you are submitting meetings the requirements for CBI
described above. Unless you are notified otherwise, MARAD will treat
such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they will
not be placed in the public docket for this RFI.
Background
On July 11, 2024, the leaders of the United States, Canada, and
Finland announced their intent to establish the Icebreaker
Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact. This trilateral framework aims to
enhance collaboration on the production of polar icebreakers and
related capabilities, fostering stronger security and economic ties
among the three nations. The initiative focuses on bolstering the
signatory nations' shipbuilding industries and industrial capacity,
through information exchange and workforce development in the context
of polar icebreaker construction and other polar capabilities.
ICE Pact comprises three key components: enhanced information
sharing and technical exchange between the three countries,
collaboration on workforce development, and an invitation for allies
and partners to purchase icebreakers built in U.S., Canadian, or
Finnish shipyards. Recognizing the capital-intensive nature of
shipbuilding, the framework emphasizes the importance of long-term,
multi-ship orderbooks to ensure the viability of shipyards. By
leveraging their shipbuilding capacities, the United States, Canada,
and Finland aim to not only meet their own needs but also support
partner nations in accessing polar regions at an affordable cost.
To implement this framework, officials representing the Governments
of the United States, Canada, and Finland signed an implementation plan
on November 13, 2024, outlining the framework for collaboration.
The framework also underscores the necessity for enhanced polar
capabilities. This is particularly important to the Polar Security
Cutter (PSC) Program which seeks to build a new class of U.S. heavy
icebreakers. These vessels will serve as vital national security
assets, ensuring access to polar regions and fulfilling crucial
missions such as defense readiness, all while operating alongside the
icebreakers of allied nations in the extreme environmental conditions
of high latitudes.
Request for Information
MARAD requests relevant comments, feedback, and information from
U.S. shipyards or other stakeholders involved or interested in the
design, manufacture, export, and research and development of polar
icebreaker and related capabilities.
The following information is requested; please provide as much
detail as possible:
(1) Do U.S. shipyards have icebreaker design and construction
experience, current or future personnel, access to advanced
technologies, and offer maintenance and lifecycle support?
(2) Do U.S. shipyards have dry dock and berthing capacity to
support polar icebreakers?
(3) Do U.S. shipyards have cold-weather testing facilities?
(4) Do U.S. shipyards have supply chains that can adapt and recover
from supply chain disruptions?
(5) Do U.S. shipyards have established training programs, capacity
for international training and exchange, and the ability to adhere to
compliance standards?
(6) Are U.S. shipyards willing to demonstrate a commitment to
information sharing, to undertake technical advisor exchanges, and
engage in R&D participation?
(7) Is there sufficient labor availability to U.S. shipyards? If
not, what are the barriers to obtaining that labor and growing that
workforce?
(8) What steps can be taken to make the shipbuilding industry more
attractive to workers?
(9) Provide specific recommendations for how U.S. shipyards can
work within the ICE Pact framework to:
a. Co-develop best practices using existing ice class from
recognized organizations and classification societies.
b. Collaborate on new and existing polar icebreakers, as well as
other capability designs that emphasize commonality among companies,
countries, or both, to encourage economies of scale in the
construction, repair, and interoperability of future polar icebreakers,
and other capabilities;
c. Establish guiding principles for production line sequencing and
supply chain management;
d. Reduce production costs of polar icebreakers, as well as other
capabilities; and
e. Enhance operational capabilities and accelerate their delivery,
consistent with relevant laws in their respective countries.
(10) How can U.S. industry leverage research, development, and
innovation to support the design and implementation of future
activities in the Arctic and polar regions? Provide specific
recommendations for how U.S. industry can work within the ICE Pact
framework to:
a. Develop knowledge and collaborate on ideas that benefit the
polar regions while maximizing the effective and efficient use of
resources and reducing duplication of industrial effort;
b. Identify, design, and implement projects that promote
innovation, sustainability, and mutual benefit; and
c. Expand the expertise for ship design and outfitting for
operations in polar regions and under the Polar Code for non-military
applications.
(11) How can MARAD support U.S. industry in achieving the
recommendations submitted in response to this request for information?
(12) Recognizing that ICE Pact is a multilateral arrangement
between governments, what incentives can be employed under the auspices
of ICE Pact to encourage U.S. shipyards to exchange and collaborate on
the design, R&D, and construction of icebreakers?
(13) What, if any, policy, regulatory, or statutory impediments
currently exist, to implementing your recommendations in response to
the questions above or lessons learned from other multilateral
industrial base initiatives?
(14) What other ideas, thoughts, concerns, or recommendations
should MARAD consider in further developing this initiative?
(Authority: 46 U.S.C. Chapter 537; 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 CFR part 298)
By order of the Executive Director in lieu of the Maritime
Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2025-03797 Filed 3-7-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 10, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.