“Current Marine Use and the AMSA Shipping Database: Nearly all shipping in Arctic today is destinational, conducted for community re-supply, marine tourism and moving natural resources out of the Arctic. Regions of high concentrations of Arctic marine activity occur along the coasts of northwest Russia, and in the ice-free waters off Norway, Greenland, Iceland and in the U.S. Arctic. Significant increases in cruise ships, a majority not purpose-built for Arctic waters, have been observed in the summer season around Greenland within the past decade.
Governance of Arctic Shipping: The fundamental framework for the governance of Arctic marine navigation is the Law of the Sea as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which allows coastal states the right to adopt and enforce non-discriminatory laws and regulations for the prevention, reduction and control of marine pollution from vessels in ice-covered waters. The UN organization IMO (International Maritime Organization) has implemented voluntary Guidelines for Ships Operating in Arctic Ice-covered Waters, and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has developed non-mandatory Unified Requirements for their members that address ship construction standards of the Polar Classes.
Scenarios, Futures and Regional Futures to 2020: Other factors besides natural resource development (hydrocarbons, hard minerals and fisheries) and regional trade that are key drivers of future Arctic marine activity include uncertainties around governance, Arctic state cooperation, oil prices, changes in global trade, climate change variability, multiple use conflicts and Arctic marine technologies. Arctic voyages through 2020 are believed to be overwhelmingly destinational, not trans-Arctic. A lack of major ports, except for those in northern Norway and northwest Russia, and other critical infrastructure will be significant limitations for future Arctic marine operations. For the Canadian Arctic, the Northwest Passage is not expected to become a viable trans-Arctic route through 2020, but destinational shipping is anticipated to increase.
Human Dimensions: Arctic residents express concern for the social, cultural and environmental effects of an expansion of shipping and other activities. The possibility of oil spills is a major concern and hunters are concerned about the disruption of marine species and their hunting practices. Constructive and early engagement of local residents in planned Arctic marine development projects can help to reduce negative impacts and to increase positive benefits.
Environmental Considerations and Impacts: Major threats from ships to the Arctic marine environment include the release of oil through accidental or illegal discharge and potential impacts of Arctic ships strikes on marine mammals, the introduction of alien species, disruption of and interaction between migratory patterns of marine mammals and anthropogenic noise produced from marine shipping activity, and black carbon and other emissions from ships that may have regional impacts and may require implementation of additional IMO environmental regulations.
Arctic Marine Infrastructure: The marine infrastructure in the Arctic, except for areas along the Norwegian coast and northwest Russia, is sparse compared with other marine regions with high concentrations of ship traffic. Hydrographic data do either not exist or are unavailable for significant portions of shipping routes, with potential impact on safe navigation. Except in limited areas of the Arctic, there is a lack of emergency response capacity for saving lives and for pollution mitigation. There are serious limitations to radio and satellite communications and few systems to monitor and control the movement of ships in ice-covered waters. Meteorological and oceanographic data, products and services are not as available as in other oceans, and there are gaps in information on sea ice and icebergs.“
Summary by: Dr. Lawson Brigham
Date: 05 July 2010