Arctic Marine Transport Workshop
Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge University, United Kingdom
28-30 September 2004
Sponsored by the Institute of the North, U.S. Arctic Research Commission and the International Arctic Science Committee, the Arctic Marine Transport Workshop final report was distributed at the upcoming April meetings of the Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group in Moscow, Russia and at the Senior Arctic Officials in Yukatia, Russia.
Amid growing interest and concern over the rapid climate changes occurring in the Arctic, experts in Arctic marine transport and international marine safety, as well as researchers of sea ice and climate change, met at the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University to create a research agenda and identify critical issues related to the future of Arctic shipping.
The three-day workshop comprised six half-day sessions, each followed by a panel and participant discussion. The research agenda and critical issues in this draft workshop report were developed during the discussions and were made available to the participants for their review.
The international gathering included 54 experts from 11 countries (United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany and Japan) representing marine research institutions, transportation ministries, national ice centers, ship designers and builders, ship classification experts, international marine transport economists and social scientists.
The workshop, dedicated to the life-long work in the Arctic by Scott Polar Research Institute’s Terence Armstrong, was the first critical step in addressing the multi-faceted issues of future Arctic marine transport, according to co-chairs Lawson Brigham, deputy director of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and Ben Ellis, managing director of the Institute of the North. “We are hopeful this workshop is only a beginning of a series of meetings and conferences on this strategic Arctic marine issue,” they told workshop participants.
In recent years, the extraordinary retreat of Arctic sea ice has focused renewed attention of the Arctic Ocean as a potential waterway for marine operations – both coastal/regional traffic and the possibility of trans-Arctic navigation. Several initiatives underway by the eight member nations of the Arctic Council also led organizers to convene the world’s experts on Arctic marine transport.
The Council’s Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, drawing on the expertise of nearly 300 scientists, is expected to place an international spotlight on the increasing possibilities for marine access throughout the Arctic Ocean. Other Council initiatives underway with Arctic marine components include an Arctic Marine Strategic Plan, which calls for an Arctic Shipping Assessment; and an Arctic Oil and Gas Assessment, which will include elements of Arctic marine transport and port operations.