Canadian Arctic Marine Transportation Issues, Opportunities and Challenges

• Main Authors: Lasserre, Frédéric, Bartenstein, Kristin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Calgary 2022
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Baffin Bay; Greenland; Baffin; Canadian Archipelago; Global warming; Ice; Iceberg*; Newfoundland; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/72626

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 ...