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Arctic shipping routes are the maritime paths used by vessels to navigate through parts or the entirety of the Arctic. There are three main routes that connect the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans: the
Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP; , ) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islan ...
, the
Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
, and the mostly unused Transpolar Sea Route. In addition, two other significant routes exist: the
Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (, shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route about long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Ad ...
, and the
Arctic Bridge The Arctic Bridge or Arctic Sea Bridge is a seasonal sea route approximately long linking Russia to Canada, specifically the Russian port of Murmansk to the Hudson Bay port of Churchill, Manitoba. Description Churchill is the only principal se ...
. To connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, the
Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
goes along the Northern Canadian and Alaskan coasts, the
Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP; , ) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islan ...
(NEP) follows the Russian and Norwegian coasts, and the Transpolar Sea Route crosses the Arctic through the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
. The Arctic Bridge is an internal Arctic route linking Russia to Canada, and the Northern Sea Route (NSR) trails the Russian coast from the
Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...
to the East, to the
Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...
to the West. The main difference between the NSR and the NEP is that the latter extends into the Barents Sea and provides access to the port of Murmansk, the largest Russian Arctic port, and to the Atlantic. Given that the NSR constitutes the majority of the NEP, some sources use the terms NSR and NEP interchangeably.


Current situation

The navigability of arctic sea routes depends primarily on the expanse of the floe, since it prevents naval traffic for a part of the year. The fluctuation of the area covered by
sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less density, dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans. Much of the world' ...
determines the time windows during which ships can pass through. The
Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
(NWP) encounters thick multiyear ice, complex straits, and pingos that make navigation especially challenging. The eastern routes Northeast Passage and Northern Sea Route have experienced a higher level of activity compared to the Northwest Passage. The
Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP; , ) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islan ...
(NEP) is relatively easier owing to lower overall ice extent and open water in the Barents Sea. Unlike similar latitudes in Alaska or in Canada, this area remains ice-free due to currents of warm water from the
Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...
, feeding into the North Atlantic. For both the NSR and NEP, in summer months the sea ice recedes more quickly compared to the NWP area. This characteristic has become more notable since the early 2000s due to successive low-records of ice age, thickness and extension. Nonetheless, the NEP remains inaccessible for a large part of the year, since in the Laptev Sea and Kara Sea, through which the NEP passes, the minimum risk of non-passage over the whole year is respectively 17% and 15%. The Transpolar Sea Route remains a mostly unused route as ships going through it must traverse a permanent sea ice sheet, requiring advanced ice breaking capabilities. The TSR was only accessible 10 days in 2010, with
icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
type vessels, and those 10 days were still considered as unsafe.


Future projections

Various projections indicate that the ice floe will greatly diminish in the future, and might even disappear by the end of the century. The depletion of the arctic ice is already visible. On average over a year, the ice floe has diminished by 4.3% every ten years. However, this reduction is not uniform over the entire year. Indeed, if we observe only the month of September, the ice floe has diminished by 10.7% every ten years, compared to only 2.8% in March. Projection models of the evolution of the arctic ice floe are based on the last 30 years. These projections mainly use circulation models of ocean and atmospheric currents, such as NEMO, the OGCM and the CMIP. They also take into account the evolution of
greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...
es, such as CO2. The NSR may be ice free by 2030, earlier than NWP or TSR. Models predict that in that year 90% of the current area of ice will remain in winter, and only 60% in September. In 2060, they forecast that these numbers will decrease to 85% and 40% respectively. Finally, in 2090, they anticipate 85% in winter, and less than 10% in August–September. As a consequence of this reduction of the ice floe, the number of days of navigability on the NEP and NWP is increased, and routes such as the TSR, that are as of yet inaccessible to regular vessels, may open up. Further projections have shown that in the next 30 years TSR will be navigable for some types of vessel, starting already by 2025, and the sailing time will be decreased to 16 and 13 days, depending on the vessel. The TRS will have the possibility to become a more frequently used Arctic route''.''The former are for now only open for a few days during the months of August and September, but certain projections indicate that in 2030 they will be open for a whole month. In 2060, the NEP will be open from August to October, and the NWP during August and September. Finally, in 2090, both passages will be open at least three months in a year. Certain projections even say that the NEP will be accessible five months per year. However, all these projections remain uncertain since global warming is accelerating, and could have unexpected consequences on climatic conditions such as the perturbation of winds and
ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, sh ...
s.


Governance

The governance of the NEP has developed considerably in the late 20th century and early 21st century. The main sources of governance are the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 169 sov ...
(UNCLOS), the
Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic region. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic ...
(AC), the
International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO; ; ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport. The IMO was established following agreement at a ...
(IMO), and the domestic legislation of the Arctic countries. In combination, they cover territorial claims, economic exploitation, technical shipping requirements, environmental protection, and
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
responsibilities.


Economic viability of Arctic sea routes


Time efficiency

The commercial interest of the Arctic shipping routes lies in the shorter travel distances they offer between several economic poles, such as
Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...
and
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
. Indeed, passing through the Arctic, from Northern Europe to
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
for example, can reduce the distance covered by ships by up to 3000
nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...
s, compared to the same journey when passing through the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
. Nevertheless, not all journeys are improved since the voyage from Northern Europe to
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, for example, results in an additional 1000 nautical miles covered. Furthermore, reduced distance does not always imply time gained as well. A study by the Asian journal of shipping and logistics concludes that depending on the ice conditions in the Arctic, journeys from Northern Europe to East Asia may not save any time at all. Indeed, the overall time of the journey depends greatly on the time spent in ice-water which slows down ships considerably. As such, if the routes are open only 3 months in a year, which implies bad ice conditions, the aforementioned transit could result in a loss of 3 days compared to the one passing through the Suez canal. However, if the routes are open all year round, which implies perfect ice conditions, the transit could result in a gain of up to 7 days. Another study even estimates that the time gained could reach up to 16 days.


Tourism opportunities

Although seemingly less important than the economic possibilities provided by Arctic natural resources, tourism could also play an important role in Arctic economic development. Several types of tourism have developed, such as eco-tourism and adventure tourism.  It is also important to balance tourism expansion with environmental protection, e.g. by extending the regulations of the Polar code to tourist ships.


Economic assessment

The economic assessment of the Arctic routes is usually an interdisciplinary study that considers not only economic parameters, but also the influence of ice conditions and other environmental parameters, demand for goods and geopolitical factors. Currently researchers are trying to make the most comprehensive economic assessment of these routes. For example, Sibul and Jin proposed a methodology for estimating costs taking into account the influence of ice in accordance with the requirements of the Northern Sea Route Administration. Later, these authors used the real weather and ice data to obtain the routes distribution for the Northern Sea Route depending on season and vessel's ice class.


Other factors

The economic viability of the Arctic routes does not only depend on their time efficiency; as a review commissioned by the
UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
points out, there are many costs to be considered. Firstly, the review notes that Russia imposes tariffs on the NSR, the most used shipping route because of its favourable ice conditions, as opposed to Canada that imposes no tariffs on the use of the NWP, which, however, has worse ice conditions. The TSR can also be considered as an attractive prospect in the future, if the Arctic sea ice recedes considerably. Linked to these tariffs is the need for an icebreaker fleet to maintain routes and ports. Indeed, Russia does impose heavy fees for the use of the NSR, but it also maintains it, which is not without cost either. Another important factor to consider is that high fuel prices make Arctic shipping more viable, and inversely so for low fuel prices. Finally, the lack of ports along the Arctic routes creates the need for special vessels, adapted to the ice conditions of the Arctic, with experienced crew. The lack of ports also means that container shipping is less attractive since vessels cannot exchange cargo along the way.


Limits of Arctic development

The development of arctic shipping routes has not gone uncontested, with concerns being raised about existing challenges that must be overcome. The UK
Government Office for Science The Government Office for Science is a science advisory office in the UK Government. The office advises the Government on policy and decision-making based on science and long-term thinking. It has been led by Professor Dame Angela McLean, the ...
lists three causes of increased risk: #
Extreme weather Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe weather, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weat ...
conditions that can cause harm to both ships and their crews, as well as a considerable danger caused by potential iceberg collisions. # A profound lack of infrastructure in the coastal regions around the main Arctic routes. Most notably lack of communication, insufficient mapping of the area and the remoteness from primary resources such as fuel and food are primordial concerns. # Increased chance of human error due to inexperience by the crew in handling under unconventional conditions. Additionally, further technical and technological advancements are required to provide specialised vessels adapted to extreme weather conditions with high reliability and at a low cost. Intensifying the navigation along the Arctic routes also entails external policy issues. Interest shown in the last decades by major shipping companies has provoked a response of Arctic countries. A multitude of claims cause uncertainties relating to the legal status of some of the routes: it is still unknown if the NSR must be considered as
internal waters According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation's internal waters include waters on the side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters that is facing toward the land, except in archipelagic states. It includes wa ...
,
territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...
or international straits. Most importantly, transiting ships will lose their right of
innocent passage Innocent passage is a concept in the law of the sea that allows for a vessel to pass through the territorial sea (and certain grandfathered internal waters) of another state, subject to certain restrictions. The United Nations Convention on the Law ...
if parts of the NSR are claimed to be internal waters (see more under Arctic cooperation and politics). Another limit to Arctic shipping development is the effect it has on marine ecosystems as well as local communities. Increased shipping in the Arctic can not only raise risks in regards to travel, but also can put sea life and local ecosystems at risk. In addition, changing the shipping routes add complexity to the issue of emissions. The Arctic is a unique place for emission changes to occur, because unlike other places in the world, changes in the Arctic can have climate impacts that are global. Some limits can be overcome with the help of local populations. Projects like eXchanging knowledge allow the creation of a more environmentally-friendly Arctic. It’s also been important to create ad hoc decision-making councils, as the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which allows these populations to be heard. Finally, environmental policies in the Polar Code must be considered before the Arctic can become the new axis of intercontinental shipping. These restrictions are likely to become more strict as the market grows, to protect the existing nature and wildlife.


Infrastructure

Infrastructure is crucial for the economic development of the Arctic, but they present difficult challenges due to the harsh environmental conditions and remote locations. Ports: huge investments are needed to support the growing maritime and logistic traffic. Russia has made important investment, like the expansion of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk ports but also many others along the NSR. It is quite clear how the lack of adequate port infrastructure limits the economic viability of these routes. Telecommunication: Broadband connectivity is essential for the economic and social development of Arctic regions. The Alaska United-Aleutians fiber-optic project is an example of how public-private partnerships can bring broadband access to remote communities. Energy: Reliable access to energy is vital for Arctic communities and industries. Some regions, like Svalbard, are transitioning to renewable energy sources, with the Norwegian government investing in wind and solar power.


Public-Private Partnership ''(PPPs)''

Significant funding can be needed to support these types of projects, whether ports, new transport lines or telecommunications. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) may be able to attract private investment and increase business opportunities and government incentives. The Arctic Economic Council has developed an Arctic investment protocol to facilitate the injection of funds and the involvement of local people in these funds. An example of these partnerships could be the creation of the FirstNet national wireless broadband network, which includes Alaska, this concession agreement between the government agency First Responder Network Authority (FRNA) and the mobile operator AT&T, had a total cost of 45 billion dollars.


Search and rescue

In 2011 the Arctic countries, organized through the
Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic region. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic ...
, signed the first binding circumpolar treaty, the ''Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic''. With it they officially established the areas of responsibility of each coastal country. The agreement emphasizes the necessity of international collaboration to overcome the unique challenges posed by
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
conditions, such as
extreme weather Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe weather, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weat ...
and vast, remote areas. As shipping routes expand due to melting ice, this treaty plays a vital role in ensuring safety in the region.


See also

*
White Sea–Baltic Canal The White Sea–Baltic Canal (), often abbreviated to White Sea Canal (), is a man-made ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea, in the Arctic Ocean, with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. U ...


Further reading

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References


External links


Search and rescue, Arctic Council
{{Arctic topics, state=expanded Arctic Ocean Sea lanes Transport in the Arctic