Washington, United States -US President Barack Obama said he would speed up the building of a new icebreaker, vital to projecting US power in the increasingly contested Arctic region.

With Russia laying stake to the North Pole and running an armada of 40 ships capable of plowing through the frigid Arctic waters year-round, Obama said its ailing fleet of three icebreakers would be updated and expanded.

"Although we technically have three, operationally we have only two and only one heavy icebreaker," Obama said, noting Russia has 40.

"We're going to be seeing more traffic in the Arctic. It is necessary we be prepared." 

He said the icebreakers need to become operational now, adding: "They can't wait."

Obama is currently in Alaska, around a third of which is north of the Arctic Circle.

The new heavy icebreaker would replace the ramshackle "Polar Sea" by 2020, two years before expected.

The rapid melting of polar ice has sent activity in the inhospitable region into overdrive -- as nations eye newly viable oil, gas deposits, mineral deposits and shipping routes like the Northwest Passage.

But there is a complex web of territorial claims with Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States all claiming a stake in portions of the Arctic.

Non-polar nations like China, which also has its own icebreaker, have also been exploring the viability of trans-Arctic shipping routes.

"The growth of human activity in the Arctic region will require highly engaged stewardship to maintain the open seas necessary for global commerce and scientific research, allow for search and rescue activities, and provide for regional peace and stability," the White House said.

"Meeting these challenges requires the United States to develop and maintain capacity for year-round access to greater expanses within polar regions."

- 'Falling short' - 

Members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, Angus King of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, described the move as a modest step in the right direction, stressing it would have to be backed by resources.

"What the president did today was less a plan than an acknowledgement that these needs must be addressed, falling short of any hard commitments made," Murkowski's office said in a statement.

Stressing the need for infrastructure development and mapping improvements in addition to icebreaking capabilities, Murkowski said the Obama administration's commitment would need to be backed up by cash in the president's next budget.

King also stressed the need for "appropriate resources" to be provided, "to ensure a strong fleet of icebreakers in the years and decades to come."

But the price tag is likely to be steep, with each new heavy-duty icebreaker estimated to cost around $1 billion apiece.

And one of the two functional icebreakers "Polar Star," is expected to be out of commission around the time the replacement for the "Polar Sea" is completed.

The Coast Guard has said it needs at least three heavy and three medium icebreakers just to meet its basic mission.