Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges
Melting sea ice Although ice will always be present in the Arctic in winter, global warming induces a steady decline of the extent of sea ice and a rapid decrease in the share of multi-year ice, giving way to younger, thinner sea ice and giving credit to modelled scenarios of ice-free summers during...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a77f2d4393c04365a2169e52a95b1120 2023-05-15T14:46:10+02:00 Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges Frédéric Lasserre Kristin Bartenstein 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v15i1.72626 https://doaj.org/article/a77f2d4393c04365a2169e52a95b1120 EN eng University of Calgary https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/72626 https://doaj.org/toc/2560-8312 https://doaj.org/toc/2560-8320 doi:10.11575/sppp.v15i1.72626 2560-8312 2560-8320 https://doaj.org/article/a77f2d4393c04365a2169e52a95b1120 The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol 15, Iss 1 (2022) Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v15i1.72626 2022-12-31T04:09:22Z Melting sea ice Although ice will always be present in the Arctic in winter, global warming induces a steady decline of the extent of sea ice and a rapid decrease in the share of multi-year ice, giving way to younger, thinner sea ice and giving credit to modelled scenarios of ice-free summers during the 21st century. However, ice remains a hazard and an impediment to navigation. Thinner and more fragmented ice moves faster and in patterns that are difficult to predict. It also seems more prone to building compression ridges. Ice arches preventing hard multi-year ice of the Arctic Ocean basin from penetrating into the Canadian Archipelago are weakening. In Baffin Bay, accelerated iceberg calving from Greenland is likely to increase the number of growlers, which pose a serious risk for navigation. From this emerges a nuanced picture of shipping conditions in the Canadian Arctic. Expanding commercial shipping Shipping in the Canadian Arctic is mainly driven by fishing, mining activities and community resupply, while transit shipping remains marginal. Fishing, mostly carried out by vessels based in Newfoundland and still less developed than in Greenland, is gradually moving north to Baffin Bay. As extraction sites are opening up, mining generates heavy traffic, in terms of both voyages and tonnage. Inland mining sites, faced with complex and costly land transportation due to melting permafrost, may further drive marine transportation. However, fluctuating world prices for commodities, not the extent of sea ice, are the main driver – or constraint – of mining activities. Community resupply is expanding as well, but strategies pursued by the four shipping companies involved differ. MTS took over from bankrupt NTCL in 2016 with a more limited service. Coastal Shipping Ltd, Desgagnés and NEAS all expanded westwards and opted for larger, heavier vessels without, however, expanding frequency of service. Regulatory framework Canada’s regulatory framework on Arctic was overhauled in 2018 to incorporate the Polar Code and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Canadian Archipelago Global warming Greenland Ice Iceberg* Newfoundland permafrost Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean Baffin Bay Greenland |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 |
spellingShingle |
Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Frédéric Lasserre Kristin Bartenstein Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges |
topic_facet |
Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 |
description |
Melting sea ice Although ice will always be present in the Arctic in winter, global warming induces a steady decline of the extent of sea ice and a rapid decrease in the share of multi-year ice, giving way to younger, thinner sea ice and giving credit to modelled scenarios of ice-free summers during the 21st century. However, ice remains a hazard and an impediment to navigation. Thinner and more fragmented ice moves faster and in patterns that are difficult to predict. It also seems more prone to building compression ridges. Ice arches preventing hard multi-year ice of the Arctic Ocean basin from penetrating into the Canadian Archipelago are weakening. In Baffin Bay, accelerated iceberg calving from Greenland is likely to increase the number of growlers, which pose a serious risk for navigation. From this emerges a nuanced picture of shipping conditions in the Canadian Arctic. Expanding commercial shipping Shipping in the Canadian Arctic is mainly driven by fishing, mining activities and community resupply, while transit shipping remains marginal. Fishing, mostly carried out by vessels based in Newfoundland and still less developed than in Greenland, is gradually moving north to Baffin Bay. As extraction sites are opening up, mining generates heavy traffic, in terms of both voyages and tonnage. Inland mining sites, faced with complex and costly land transportation due to melting permafrost, may further drive marine transportation. However, fluctuating world prices for commodities, not the extent of sea ice, are the main driver – or constraint – of mining activities. Community resupply is expanding as well, but strategies pursued by the four shipping companies involved differ. MTS took over from bankrupt NTCL in 2016 with a more limited service. Coastal Shipping Ltd, Desgagnés and NEAS all expanded westwards and opted for larger, heavier vessels without, however, expanding frequency of service. Regulatory framework Canada’s regulatory framework on Arctic was overhauled in 2018 to incorporate the Polar Code and ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Frédéric Lasserre Kristin Bartenstein |
author_facet |
Frédéric Lasserre Kristin Bartenstein |
author_sort |
Frédéric Lasserre |
title |
Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges |
title_short |
Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges |
title_full |
Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges |
title_fullStr |
Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges |
title_full_unstemmed |
Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges |
title_sort |
canadian arctic marine transportation issues, opportunities and challenges |
publisher |
University of Calgary |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v15i1.72626 https://doaj.org/article/a77f2d4393c04365a2169e52a95b1120 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Baffin Bay Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Baffin Bay Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Canadian Archipelago Global warming Greenland Ice Iceberg* Newfoundland permafrost Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Canadian Archipelago Global warming Greenland Ice Iceberg* Newfoundland permafrost Sea ice |
op_source |
The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol 15, Iss 1 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/72626 https://doaj.org/toc/2560-8312 https://doaj.org/toc/2560-8320 doi:10.11575/sppp.v15i1.72626 2560-8312 2560-8320 https://doaj.org/article/a77f2d4393c04365a2169e52a95b1120 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v15i1.72626 |
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1766317422812332032 |