What nations fund the IIP?

As of 2007 the governments contributing to the International Ice Patrol included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Originally, there were thirteen nations which signed the 1914 SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Convention agreement. These nations agreed to share costs in accordance with a formula approximating their degree of individual benefit. This sharing arrangement has been updated over the years as shipping patterns changed and as additional nations acceded to the treaty. Financial relations are handled by the U.S. Department of State which does the actual billing of each nation for its share of the cost. In the early days this share was a fixed percentage, changed from time to time by treaty revision. In recent years, the cost share has been based on each participating nation's percentage of the total cargo tonnage transiting the patrol area during the ice season.