The Opening of the Northern Sea Routes: The Implications for Global Shipping and for Canada’s Relations with Asia ...

• Main Author: Stephens, Hugh
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The School of Public Policy Publications 2016
• Subjects: Canada; Northwest Passage; Northern Sea Route; Northwest passage; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v9i0.42586.g30468; https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/42586/30468

All the excitement around the great possibilities that the opening of the Northwest Passage could offer the shipping industry — and Canada — could not last. Just a few years ago, as sea ice in the North seemed to be steadily melting away, observers were eagerly tallying up the savings in time, fuel and costs that a reliably ice-free route across the top of the planet would provide for shippers. A couple of trial runs only confirmed that for shipments from Asia to Europe or North America, or the other way around, the route could shave thousands of kilometres off each trip, compared to journeys through the Suez or Panama canals. Rapid growth in shipping traffic across the Northwest Passage and its sister route, the Northern Sea Route, seemed not just inevitable, but imminent. Just a short while later, it now seems neither imminent nor inevitable. The retreat in sea ice may persist, but it is evident that due to regular fluctuations in ice coverage, the Northwest Passage will not be reliably ice-free for many, ... : The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol 9 (2016) ...