America has 1.5 icebreaker left and the rest of the world has more. The Royal Navy is the only competition with America in this race to the bottom with icebreaker loss of capacity.. 
Royal Navy’s only icebreaker out of action [at a vital point in time, the Falklands need protecting] HMS Protector towed back to Plymouth port after double engine defect…
The UK has been left without its critical ice patrol ship after she suffered an engine failure at sea. The Telegraph understands that HMS Protector was leaving the UK on Tuesday morning when she suffered a double “engine defect” and was towed back to Devonport in Plymouth. The Royal Navy will now assess whether the damage can be repaired. If not, a replacement may not be found until the 2030s. It comes amid increasing threats from Russia in the Arctic and North Atlantic. Earlier this year, it was revealed a covert Russian operation to sabotage cables on the Arctic seabed had been disrupted by British, American and Norwegian forces. It also comes after renewed Argentine threats towards the Falkland Islands.One Navy source told The Telegraph that the warship was “a really important capability, not just for the Royal Navy but for the nation”. Another described the situation as a “catastrophic failure”. The Telegraph understands maintenance failures had led to the problems on the ship, which typically patrols the South Atlantic, providing support services to the Falkland Islands. Cmdr Tom Sharpe, who commanded HMS Endurance, Protector’s predecessor, said it would be “poor timing” to remove the ship from service. “Withdrawing our ice-patrol capability from the South Atlantic, at a moment of renewed Argentine sabre-rattling over the Falklands and their resources, while the High North grows more contested, is poor timing.
There is no long term planning happening at the Admiralty in the UK. They should simply withdraw any ambitions of a navy at all.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “HMS Protector has returned to her home port of Devonport while investigations into a defect take place. As part of the defence investment plan, HMS Protector will be replaced with a more modern variant to maintain the ice patrol capability. “She remains part of the fleet and any decisions on her immediate future will be made in due course.”
