#shipping

Yesterday, I mentioned in a blog post that Eimskip, the Icelandic shipping company, recently moved its North American hub from Norfolk, Virginia to Portland, Maine. This will be the American port’s first direct connection to Europe in 33 years, according to an excellent, fact-filled article in the Press Herald, a local newspaper. Eimskip’s decision is in line […]

On Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Iceland, two center-right parties seized power from the incumbent Social Democrats. Iceland Review states that the Independence Party won a reported 28.5 percent of the vote, while the Progressive Party won 25.2 percent. What does this mean for Iceland’s Arctic strategy and the region at large? The EU dimension First of […]

There’s been a lot of developments in Arctic shipping lately, particularly in light of the study by members of UCLA’s Geography Department forecasting new trans-Arctic routes to become navigable by mid-century. With the possibility of more ships transiting the Arctic, it’s imperative that a Polar Code be developed. Shipping in the poles might be increasing quickly, […]

Coming on the heels of a UCLA study reporting that new trans-Arctic routes could be open to shipping by mid-century, Huigen Yang, the Director Polar Research Institute of China, met with Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Össur Skarphéðinsson, on March 15 to discuss northern shipping. Both countries stand to benefit if the Northern Sea Route is developed: China, […]

A new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Laurence Smith and Scott Stephenson of UCLA’s Geography Department reports that new trans-Arctic shipping routes will be navigable during the summer by midcentury. The authors found that first, common open-water ships will be able to transit the Northern Sea Route […]

Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it will be dry towing its two drill ships anchored in Alaska to ports in Asia for repairs. This means that it likely won’t be drilling in the Alaskan Arctic this summer unless the fixes are somehow completed in time. Two ships are needed whenever drilling is taking place: […]

On the first day of the Arctic Frontiers conference, Lieutenant Governor of Alaska Mead Treadwell gave a speech full of metaphors heralding a “new age of Arctic global shipping.” In the “geopolitics of a new ocean” (a phrase ripe for unpacking), he called for making the Arctic “safe, secure, and reliable at sea.” A “Lasting […]

The new headquarters for the Northern Sea Route (NSR) will open in Moscow on January 28. The new, state-owned enterprise will have a budget of 35 million rubles (about $1.1 million) and will set forth tariffs and regulations regarding “navigation safety and the prevention, reduction, and control of pollution in the marine environment,” according to a […]

Last week, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited Norway for two days. He met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to discuss trade relations, political cooperation, and North Korea. The two countries signed two memoranda of understanding. The first concerns environmentally-conscientious shipbuilding, which makes sense given the two countries’ heavy involvement in the industry. South […]

SDS-Ugol, a major coal producer in Russia, has announced plans to build a new seaport outside of Murmansk that will accommodate up to 18 million tons of coal exports a year. Many of the company’s coal mines are located in the Kuzbass region in Siberia. From there, much of the coal is shipped by rail […]

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s administration is trying to get a leg up on development of the Northern Sea Route. Earlier this week, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev stated to RIA Novosti that the amount of state supervision and control over the Northern Sea Route was “not acceptable,” especially in the eastern part. […]

On Thursday and Friday, the chiefs of defense from all eight Arctic states met at a Canadian military base in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador to discuss forging closer ties up north.  This was the first time that generals from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S. convened. The meeting will now […]