The Alaska Lt. governor’s office announced that it had commissioned a study to examine shipping in the Arctic on the heels of a recent sea ice study showing that possible unescorted Arctic shipping could be largely possible by 2040.
While fewer than 50 vessels reportedly moved through the Northern Sea Route above Russia in 2012, numbers of vessels, many carrying oil, LNG and other energy-related products, is only expected to increase. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said China has recently announced it intends to ship some 15 percent of its world trade vessels on Arctic routes in coming years.
The study will also focus on marine safety. Currently, itinerant vessels passing along Alaska’s shores go largely undocumented and while agreements are in place with most Arctic players to collaborate on spill response efforts, little is generally known about the vessels transiting the area, such as what sort of response equipment they have on board, what type of vessel they are, and even their location.
Another study recently completed and now open for public comment covers many of the same topics as the Alaska version from a national perspective. The “U.S. Arctic Marine Transportation System: Overview and Priorities for Action” completed last month by the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System, outlines the state of the Arctic transportation world and makes recommendations on everything from physical infrastructure needs to Marine Transportation System response services needed. Another study recently completed and now open for public comment covers many of the same topics as the Alaska version from a national perspective. The “U.S. Arctic Marine Transportation System: Overview and Priorities for Action” completed last month by the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System, outlines the state of the Arctic transportation world and makes recommendations on everything from physical infrastructure needs to Marine Transportation System response services needed.
The tanker Ob River carrying natural gas has successfully completed a trip through the Arctic Ocean from Norway to Japan in 2012, becoming the first ship to try a safer trade route for gas supplies than the more risky routes in the Southern seas. The ship departed November 7 from the Hammerfest Snohvit LNG facility headed for the Japanese utility Kyushu Electric Power Co.