Is Global Icebreaker Race Imminent?

... international norms might sound ironic, when it comes from a country that has never joined the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Nonetheless, the US has reason to be concerned about its position in the High North: It currently has only two ageing icebreakers with only one of them—the USCGC Polar Star, commissioned in 1976—being fully operational. Canada can boast a more sizeable fleet of 17 icebreakers, but no more than three or four of them can be called to active duty without any major repair ...