According to the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment 2009 Report, the Arctic Ocean is one of the few remaining undisturbed marine spaces on earth. However, due to "extraordinary environmental and developmental changes," those spaces are "poised as significant contributors to the global economy."
The report, from the Arctic Council's Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment working group, discusses issues related to an anticipated increase in marine transportation to support oil and gas exploration and the growth of Arctic tourism. SDLq The potential impacts of these new marine uses - social, environmental, cultural and economic - are unknown, but will be significant for Arctic indigenous people and the marine environment already undergoing significant changes due to climate change," the report says.
Arctic nations, acting under the direction of the Arctic Council (an intergovernmental organization comprised of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the U.S.), decided to assess the state of Arctic marine shipping in an effort to understand and get ahead of the curve on whatever issues might need international attention as the ice recedes and boats move in.
The issues, among others, include environmental impacts, marine infrastructure, salvage operations, hydrographic data and charts, aids to navigation, navigation electronics, jurisdictional conflicts, and standards for vessel and equipment design and construction.
These and many other challenges will require "unprecedented levels of cooperation among the eight Arctic states" along with the engagement of many non-Arctic stakeholders within the global maritime industry, according to the AMSA.
The primary driver of changes in the Arctic is a warming climate that has melted much of the sea ice that has traditionally covered the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas, winter and summer. As the climate warms, the summer ice edge recedes and exposes more navigable waters. The trend is expected to continue.
According to the AMSA, global climate models indicate a continuing retreat of sea ice, with a possibility of an ice-free Arctic Ocean for a short period in summer perhaps as early as 2015. This may result in longer navigation seasons, except perhaps during winter, SDLq but not necessarily less difficult ice conditions for marine operations."
So even if the ice sheet has retreated, that doesn't mean the environment isn't harsh and dangerous, a situation that the U.S. Coast Guard has recognized. In its Arctic Strategic Plan, the Coast Guard says that it " must confront the challenges associated with performance of its missions in a region that is not only experiencing (or projected to experience) a marked increase in human activity, but is also one of the harshest operating environments on Earth."
RECOMMENDATIONS
Marine safety and environmental protection are primary goals of the Arctic Council and the focus of the AMSA.
Given these objectives, the writers of the report have presented numerous recommendations in three areas: Enhancing Arctic Marine Safety, Protecting Arctic People and the Environment, and Building Arctic Marine Infrastructure. Implementation is anticipated from the Arctic nations, industry and/or private-public partnerships.
The marine safety recommendations include developing unified positions to present to international organizations like the IMO, including the augmentation of "global IMO ship safety and pollution prevention conventions with specific mandatory requirements or other provisions for ship construction, design, equipment, crewing, training and operations, aimed at safety and protection of the Arctic environment." For passenger operations, the AMSA encourages operators to share best practices and consider timing voyages so that ships are within rescue distance of each other during emergencies. In addition, a multinational Arctic search-and-rescue regime, including both aeronautical and maritime SAR, should also be developed by the Arctic states.
To protect Arctic people and the environment, the AMSA recommends more engagement with Arctic communities, the identification of areas of ecological and cultural significance, and the designation of internationally recognized "Special Areas." Oil spill prevention also needs enhanced mutual cooperation between governments and industry.
Building adequate marine infrastructure includes improvements in ice navigation training, navigational charts, communications systems, port services, and icebreaker capabilities.
The AMSA also recommends the development of a comprehensive Arctic marine traffic awareness system, circumpolar environmental response capabilities, and investment in improved hydrographic, meteorological and oceanographic data.
WORKBOAT INTERESTS
Mead Treadwell, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, one of the financial and organizational supporters of the AMSA, said, "One of the results of AMSA is that a search-and-rescue agreement is now being negotiated among the Arctic nations."
He also emphasized the need for investment in aids to navigation, salvage capacity and ports of refuge in the Arctic. "It's been 500 years that we've been talking about these oceans as areas to operate in regularly, and what this assessment shows is that it's here now."
Treadwell said the U.S. Geological survey has estimated that 13 percent of the undiscovered oil and 30 percent of the undiscovered conventional natural gas "is to be found in the confines of the Arctic region."
"Five Arctic nations are very much engaged in offshore oil and gas production in the offshore Arctic and that means work for workboats, SDRq continued Treadwell. SDLq It also means that workboats need to pay attention to the things that govern insurance costs, operating costs on pilot rules, and operating costs on whether or not there are aids to navigation.
SDLq If you're in the workboat business, it's very much in your interest in the long run if this area is going to produce energy, you're going to need to have decent maritime regimes in place."
A PDF version of the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment report is available from the Institute of the North's Web site: www.institutenorth.or g .