The U.S. is now starting to realize the same things we're grappling with now. There is significant activity in their sector in terms of oil exploration. Also, the world's largest nickel mines and I think North America's largest coal mines are in Alaska. The U.S. is dealing with the export and the transit of those kinds of resources out of ice-covered waters. Currently, there is no dedicated arm of the coast guard that deals with icebreaking services. They have two icebreakers, which are very capable but they're quite old. They've built a third one that does mostly research. They are actually behind Canada in terms of icebreaking capability and a presence.
Without getting into the whole issue of the United States' view on the Northwest Passage, which they view obviously as an international strait, you will see increasing interest on their part, especially if you look at the whole scope of activity surrounding the UNCLOS II surveys that are going on in the Arctic now and where each country's continental shelf actually ends and who owns what.
I think the U.S. is very interested in ensuring that their slice of that pie is what they want it to be. If Russia hires vessels or builds vessels to do that, then the U.S. will.