Arctic Institute News

A Maersk vessel loaded with Russian fish and South Korean electronics will next week become the first containership to navigate an Arctic sea route that Russia hopes will become a new shipping highway.The Arctic voyage by the 3,600 20-foot container capacity Venta Maersk is the latest step in the expansion of the so-called Northern Sea Route which is becoming more accessible to ships as climate change reduces the amount of sea ice.The brand new Venta Maersk, one of the world's largest ice-class vessels, will also collect scientific data, said Maersk, underlining that the voyage is a one-off trial for now.The decision by Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping group…

President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed a faster timetable for buying a new heavy icebreaker for the U.S. Arctic, where quickly melting sea ice has spurred more maritime traffic and the United States has fallen far behind Russian resources. The move, part of a push to convince Americans to support Obama's plans to curb climate change, has long been urged by Arctic advocates as climate change opens up the region to more shipping, mining and oil drilling. The announcement came as Obama heads to the coastal town of Seward, named after Secretary of State William Seward, who negotiated the purchase of Alaska in 1867 from Russia. In the first step of Obama's new timetable, the government would buy a heavy icebreaker by 2020 instead of the previous goal of 2022.

Diplomats from global trade and economic powers signaled their governments' growing interest in Arctic transit and heavy shipping in the Arctic Ocean. Arctic Business Forum held in Rovaniemi from March 10 to March 12 forecast huge possibility for business and investment in the arctic region. Kenji Shinoda, the Japanese ambassador to Finland, said the "Arctic is becoming more and more promising for collaboration" between the two nations. "Now is not too early to start looking vigorously for these opportunities," Shinoda said. Malte Humpert, the director of the Arctic Institute and a maritime shipping expert, said shipping will play an outsized role in the region's future.

The year 2014 has proved to be a chilly one for Arctic shipping. Just 31 ships sailed between Europe and Asia across the Northern Sea Route, and 22 did part of the route, according to an Alaska Public Radio Network report. That’s down from a total of more than 70 in 2013. Thirty-one ships used the Northern Sea Route over Russia to sail between Europe and Asia and another 22 used part of the route, Alaska Public Radio Network reported. Last year, 70 vessels used the Northern Sea Route. Malte Humpert, executive director of the Arctic Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, says this year has served as a reality check on some of the over-heated Arctic predictions of recent years.

As China’s international trade remains seemingly ever-growing, the country continues to seek diversified options for expanding its global trade. The prospect of Arctic shipping passages have generated much discussion throughout the industry, especially as weather trends seem to implicate a potentially vast opening of passable routes, most specifically for China in the Northern Sea Route. Executive Director of The Arctic Institute, Malte Humpert, conducted a study, “The Future of Arctic Shipping: A New Silk Road for China?” that explores global trade patterns…

The Arctic Institute sees agreement the China-Iceland trade agreement as a clear sign of China's drive to gain a foothold in the Arctic region. " ... Iceland's strategically valuable location at the entrance to the Arctic Ocean and its year-round ice free waters make it a natural ally in China's goal to gain access to the Arctic's shipping routes. The signing of the agreement today is a further indication of the importance China places in the development of Arctic shipping routes”. “Iceland's role as a potential Arctic shipping hub may be further strengthened by future mining and mineral activity in neighboring Greenland.