Preventing Disaster as the Arctic Seas Open for Business

• Main Author: Lore, Michael W.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law 2008
• Subjects: environmental law; international law; law of the sea; Arctic; Law of the Sea; Northeast Passage; Northwest passage
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/peel_alumni/119; https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/context/peel_alumni/article/1118/viewcontent/viewcontent.cgi

Vessels navigate freely in the port of Helsinki, Finland this winter as the usually busy icebreakers standby idle. The retreating ice is creating the once-fabled Northwest Passage, allowing goods to travel between Western Europe and Eastern Asia with a 4,000-mile shortcut through the Canadian Arctic. The Russian Northeast Passage is also becoming more accessible, creating a huge potential for increased shipping and fishing traffic throughout the entire Arctic region. As traffic increases, countries with jurisdiction over the Arctic should consider international agreements to protect against catastrophic oil or chemical spills in the region’s fragile ecosystems.