Notice2026-06648
Request for Information: 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
April 6, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentMaritime Administration
Abstract
This notice requests information from the public to assist MARAD in determining which shipyards in the U.S. have the capacity to construct ships capable of operating in ice conditions and to identify what factors would be necessary to further develop and construct icebreaker ships in the U.S. Information gathered in response to the request could be used to increase the capacity of the U.S. to design, produce, and maintain polar icebreakers through trilateral collaboration with Canada and Finland, while supporting each country's shipbuilding industrial base.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 65 (Monday, April 6, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17326-17327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06648]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[Docket Number MARAD-2026-0496]
Request for Information: Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE)
Pact
AGENCY: Maritime Administration (MARAD), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for information.
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SUMMARY: This notice requests information from the public to assist
MARAD in determining which shipyards in the U.S. have the capacity to
construct ships capable of operating in ice conditions and to identify
what factors would be necessary to further develop and construct
icebreaker ships in the U.S. Information gathered in response to the
request could be used to increase the capacity of the U.S. to design,
produce, and maintain polar icebreakers through trilateral
collaboration with Canada and Finland, while supporting each country's
shipbuilding industrial base.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 5, 2026.
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>, search the docket number listed above and follow
the online instructions for submitting comments.
[ssquf] Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, W12-140, Washington, DC
20590-0001.
[ssquf] Hand Delivery: Suite 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.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and the docket
number 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, Deputy Associate
Administrator for Shipbuilding and Industry Expansion, 202-366-1850, or
via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7d3d6c1ded399dfd2dbdbd2c5f7d3d8c399d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="523633243b367c3a373e3e372012363d267c353d24">[email protected]</span></a>. Office hours for MARAD are from 8:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 19, 2025, representatives of the
United States, Canada, and Finland signed a Joint Statement of Intent
(JSOI) outlining their intentions for advancing the Icebreaker
Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact. This trilateral framework aims to
enhance collaboration on the production of polar ice breakers and
related capabilities, while 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 four key components: enhanced information
sharing and technical exchange between the three countries,
collaboration on workforce development, an invitation for allies and
partners to purchase icebreakers built in U.S., Canadian, or Finnish
shipyards, and collaborating on research and development. 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.
The framework also supports directly the fielding of needed polar
capabilities. This is particularly important to the U.S. Coast Guard's
Polar Security Cutter (PSC) and Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) programs,
through which the U.S. Coast Guard seeks to build new heavy and medium
icebreakers. On October 8, 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum
titled ``Construction of Arctic Security Cutters,'' wherein he
determined the current fleet of American icebreakers to be insufficient
to meet operational demands. President Trump directed the leveraging of
ICE Pact to inform a plan that would build a select number of ASCs
abroad, in a phased manner that promotes the on-shoring of expertise
necessary to build follow-on icebreakers domestically. These vessels
will serve as vital national 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 the high latitudes.
To focus workforce development initiatives, the Department of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Departments of
Transportation and Labor, developed and released in November 2025 the
Icebreaker Collaboration Effort U.S. National Workforce Development
Plan. This plan serves as a framework for coordinating U.S. government
efforts in supporting the development of the skilled trades and
occupations across various sectors, including the domestic maritime
industrial base, necessary to build icebreakers domestically.
Request for Information (RFI)
MARAD requests relevant comments and information from U.S.
shipyards involved in the design, manufacture, export, and research and
development
[[Page 17327]]
of polar icebreaker and related capabilities.
The following information is requested; please provide as much
detail as possible:
(1) What economic opportunities or risks may accrue to communities
from increased U.S. polar shipbuilding activity (jobs, infrastructure
demands, or other potential impacts)?
(2) What regional infrastructure investments (ports, utilities,
transportation networks, technology, or other investments) are required
to support expanded icebreaker production?
(3) What barriers prevent small or mid-sized suppliers from
participating in the polar shipbuilding supply chain?
(4) What incentives or technical assistance would help small
businesses join or scale in the shipbuilding supply chain?
(5) What information-sharing mechanisms would help suppliers better
anticipate demand, align production, or mitigate risk?
(6) Are there critical materials or components that should be
produced or stockpiled domestically?
(7) How can local schools, technical colleges, and apprenticeship
programs be better integrated into ICE Pact workforce development? What
existing educational or training programs could contribute to ICE Pact
workforce development?
(8) What new curricula or certifications would help prepare workers
for polar vessel design and construction, and how are trade unions
involved in the development of the workforce or in recruiting and
retaining workers?
(9) What community-level factors (housing availability, childcare,
transportation, cost of living, or other factors) influence the ability
to recruit and retain workers in shipbuilding regions?
(10) What innovations and advanced technologies (AI-enabled design
tools, robotics, digital twins, cold-weather materials, alternative
fuel systems, or other advanced technologies) should be prioritized for
collaboration under ICE Pact?
(11) What specific testing facilities does the U.S. need to be
successful (materials labs, climate chambers, autonomous systems
ranges, or other facilities)? Do these facilities currently exist in
the U.S.?
(12) What concerns do stakeholders have regarding intellectual
property protection in multinational shipbuilding programs, and are
there safeguards that should be implemented to protect these designs?
(13) What national security requirements, including export
controls, may pose problems for exports of U.S.-built icebreakers or
construction in partner or ally shipyards?
(14) What factors should guide decisions about exporting U.S.-built
icebreakers to partners or allies?
(15) What contract structures (block buys, multiyear procurement,
public-private partnerships, or other structures) would help stabilize
orderbooks?
(16) What financial or policy tools (loan guarantees, grants, risk-
sharing mechanisms, or other policy tools) would help shipyards
modernize or expand?
(17) What lessons from past U.S. or allied shipbuilding initiatives
should be applied to ICE Pact to avoid cost overruns, delays, or
capacity mismatches?
(18) What models of multinational industrial cooperation (AUKUS,
NATO, or other models) should be copied or avoided?
(19) What basic research needs exist that would benefit icebreaker
operations in the polar regions?
(20) What factors should guide the development of U.S. planning for
future icebreaker maintenance requirements and underlying supply chain
needs?
(21) In what statutorily established ways can MARAD best support
the development of the skilled trades and occupations across the
maritime industrial base to build icebreakers domestically?
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. Electronic
retrieval help and guidelines are also 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="http://www.FederalRegister.gov">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
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 (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552),
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to
this RFI contain commercial or financial information 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 may ask DOT to
give confidential treatment to information you give to the Department
by taking the following steps: (1) Mark each page of the original
document submission containing CBI as ``Confidential''; (2) send DOT,
along with the original document, a second copy of the original
document with the CBI deleted; and (3) explain why the information you
are submitting is CBI. Unless you are notified otherwise, DOT will
treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they
will not be placed in the public docket of this RFI. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to Mr. David Heller, Associate
Administrator for Business and Finance Development, Room W21-318,
MARAD, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Any comment
submissions that DOT receives that are not specifically designated as
CBI will be placed in the public docket.
(Authority: 46 U.S.C. Chapter 537; 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 CFR part 298)
By order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-06648 Filed 4-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P
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