May (and April) Update from Sixty Degrees North

An update on the growth and continued relevance of this little hobby of mine.

Back on February 26th I sent out a short note about the growth of Sixty Degrees North during its first year of publication.

Happy Anniversary, Sixty Degrees North!

Since that February update, Sixty Degrees North has been featured in a couple of influential publications.

Congressional Research Service Report

First, my work was cited in the April 21st update to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report on the Polar Security Cutter. Note that the CRS report now also covers the Arctic Security Cutter.

I didn’t write about this recent update to Ron O’Rourke’s great series of reports on the Polar Security Cutter separately, as it does not contain any information new to readers of Sixty Degrees North. The update mostly adds information about the Arctic Security Cutter that I’ve recently covered here (the RFI, Rauma Marine Construction’s Negotiations).

But it is news that the report cited your humble author seven times. Here’s one example:

Long-time readers might recognize that this quote adds information to the CRS report series. I’ve previously noted my frustration that these reports did not acknowledge that Finnish companies can design and build ‘heavy’ icebreakers, even though the Finns do not need to operate those types of icebreakers. Now my own words correct that oversight.

Arctic Today Partnership

At the end of 2024 I entered a partnership with Arctic Today in which I gave them permission to re-post my Substack articles in their online publication. This is just another method to get the word out about how the U.S. (and other Western Nations) can acquire more icebreakers and ice-capable vessels within a relevant timeline. Careful readers will note that the CRS report cites my work as it appeared in Arctic Today, not directly from Substack.

Thank you to the fine folks at Arctic Today for suggesting this partnership! And for my readers who don’t subscribe to Arctic Today, I can only ask: What are you waiting for?

Appearance in the Wall Street Journal

I met with Dan Michaels, the Wall Street Journal’s Brussels Bureau Chief, while he was visiting Finland in March. We had a chance to talk briefly during his visit to Helsinki Shipyard and then followed up with an hour-long phone conversation. Dan’s article, in which I was quoted several times, came out on May 11th.

Thoughts and Comments

It is no joke that Sixty Degrees North surpassed 1,000 subscribers on the first of April. Today, we’re up to 1,127. Thanks to you, my readers, for your continued support and willingness to spread the word!

I’ve been working on an article assessing icebreaker designs and shipyards that meet the requirements set forth in the U.S. Coast Guard’s recent Arctic Security Cutter RFI. Within the past day or two, though, Davie Helsinki Shipyard introduced a new design, the Multi-Purpose Polar Support Ship, at CANSEC, a Canadian defense trade show:

Photos are from Noah over at True North Strategic Review. Noah provides great coverage of all things related to Canadian defense:

My Experience at CANSEC + Lots of Photos

I’ll need to update that draft article now, hopefully I can get it out this week.

Life has been busier for the past few months, and I’ve been enrolled in a Finnish language course that meets four times per week. It’s been good for me but results in substantially less dedicated time to write and edit my writing. And the editing is quite important, as at this moment I have 24 draft articles just sitting in my queue, waiting to be finished and edited. Hopefully I’ll be able to publish many of them once the summer comes along and things slow down here.

Thanks again for your continued support.

All the Best,

PGR