Arctic Shipping Portlet | Arctic Portal

The Arctic Portal Shipping Portlet is intended to give the user the possibility to follow the most prominent issues of Arctic shipping, giving each user access to the appropriate material. This will consist of recent news articles, scientific reports and other relevant material.

The AMSA report 2009 can be said to be the leading source of information about Arctic Shipping today. The Arctic Council decided in November 2004 at the ministerial meeting in Reykjavík that a comprehensive Arctic marine shipping assessment was necessary. The Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) working group was in charge of creating the report with the assistance of more than 185 experts from a number of organizations. The AMSA report was approved at the ministerial meeting Tromsø meeting in 2009. This report is one of the key sources of information for the AP shipping portlet as well as a key document for anyone interested in Arctic shipping

The possibility of a trans-arctic shipping route has intrigued seafarers since the days of the first Arctic explorers, as it would shorten the distance between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean significantly and shorten trading routes. This possibility still intrigues many and is an issue that has received significant media coverage; it probably will become a possibility during the 21. century due to declining in sea Ice, but is by many not considered to be the most dominant issue in arctic shipping today. How and when this will happen is hard to predict. It is estimated that possibly we will see an ice-free arctic ocean for a short period as soon as 1015, but conditions that would make regular Trans-arctic shipping a viable option are harder to predict. There are numerous factors that will have to be taken into account such as the lack of infrastructure, technological advances in ice strengthened cargo ships, pressure to develop alternative shipping lanes due to pressure on existing lanes such as the Panama and Suez canals will all play a role in the development of trans-arctic cargo shipping.

One of the key issues that are prominent in Arctic shipping is the question if there is a need to develop mandatory regulations for ships operating in Arctic Ice-covered Waters. There exist voluntary guidelines that touch upon the subject from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). The AMSA report comes to the conclusion that such regulation drawn up in accordance to international customary law as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) would be an effective way to enhance marine safety and environmental protection in Arctic waters. Such guidelines would contribute to ensure the safety of seafarers in these challenging surroundings.

Support infrastructure in the Arctic region is lacking to ensure safety and environmental protection. Ice navigation training, navigational charts, communications systems, port services witch are equipped to deal with ship generated waste, timely ice information and access to icebreakers when needed. Arctic Marine Traffic Systems need to be improved with increased monitoring and tracking marine activity. Both environmental response and search and rescue need to be significantly strengthened.

Protecting Arctic People and the Environment are one of the key issues identified and this includes; gathering information on indigenous marine use to assess the impacts from Arctic shipping activities. Enganging arctic communities with the shipping industry by ensuring that mechanisms are in place enabling these communities to communicate and coordinate with the shipping industry. Culturall and ecological areas of heightened importance need to be protected. Protection from invasive species, monitoring and assessing impacts on marine mammals and reducing air emission.

These are among the key issues that need to be addressed in connection to shipping activities within the Arctic. During 2009 there were about 6000 vessels, many making multiple voyages operating in the Arctic. Virtually all shipping in the region is destinational, conducted for community re-supply, resource oriented or connected to tourism.  There has been a significant increase in cruise ships, were a majority of them are not specifically built for navigation within Arctic waters. These ships may have significant effect on wildlife, as the porpoise of these voyages is to seek of places of special interests such as wildlife refuges. There are a number of ways that a cruise ship can cause harm in delicate areas that include; noise, air and ocean pollution, inappropriate behavior of passengers ashore are the most prominent impacts, sewage as well as the average cruise ship will also produce more than 95000 liters of oily bilge a week, which can increase chances of accidental spillage or leaks as infrastructure is lacking to deal with this. Additionally there is a increased security risk involved for passengers if a cruise liner would need immediate assistance as search and rescue resources are limited with a tighter timeframe due to challenging surroundings.

The issues listed here are just a few of the most prominent issues within Arctic shipping today. Further information and links to the subject in media, scientific reports and videos can be found among the links below. If you have any interesting links relevant to the matter please send us an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will ad them as this section grows.

Trans-Arctic Shipping lanes: