Tag: Arctic

The problem is that the Arctic Sea is considered to be a very valuable oil reserve Greenpeace ships, the Arctic Sunrise and the Esperanza, have been searching the North Atlantic for the oil rig, Leiv Eiriksson. The ships finally found the Cairn Energy owned oil rig this week hidden amongst the icebergs. However, in finding the oil rig they were also confronted by commandos from the Danish navy whose mission was to protect the massive 53,000 tonne oil rig.The Leiv Eiriksson, now located 200 miles to the west of Greenland, is considered by many to be one of the world's most controversial oil rigs and the drilling operation is being protected by a Danish warship. Of major concern is that any oil spill in the Arctic Sea would be very difficult, if not impossible, to handle and Greenpeace has just released confidential documents written by the UK government which confirm that the foreign office is concerned an Arctic oil spill clean-up would be extremely challenging.Greenpeace said today that Cairn Energy is hoping to drill down to 1500m, which is the depth of the BP oil well that caused major devastation in the Gulf of Mexico, but that the Leiv Eiriksson ...

Resource wars are possible as global warming melts polar ice It is considered the final frontier for oil and gas exploitation, and secret US embassy cables published by WikiLeaks confirm that nations are battling to "carve up" the Arctic's vast resources."The twenty-first century will see a fight for resources," Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying in a 2010 cable. "Russia should not be defeated in this fight."Along with exposing an estimated 22 per cent of the world's oil, ice meltingdue to global warmingwill open new shipping lanes, the arteries of global commerce, which nations are competing to control. And Russia certainly is not the only country eyeing the frozen prize.Per Stig Moller, then Danish foreign minister, mused in a 2009 cable that "new shipping routes and natural resource discoveries would eventually place the region at the centre of world politics".Canada, the US, Russia, Norway, Denmark, and perhaps even China, have competing claims to the Arctic, a region about the size of Africa, comprising some six per cent of the Earth's surface.'Resource wars'"The WikiLeaks cables show us realpolitik in its rarest form," says Paul Wapner, director of the global environmental politics programme at American University in Washington. ...

Scientific data on the Arctic's unique marine ecosystem was missing The latest attempt by federal regulators to address concerns of environmental groups about plans for oil and gas development off the coast of Alaska appears likely to fall far short.A revised draft environmental impact statement, (E.I.S.) published Friday by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), a division of the Department of the Interior, describes the potential consequences of federal oil and gas lease sales in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast.But it is already being described as inadequate by critics who say it ignores a long-standing call for more robust scientific analysis of the rugged and remote ecosystem.The revised review was ordered after a federal court ruled last summer that the government had done a poor job of analyzing the potential impacts of natural gas development in the Chukchi lease area the first time around. Known as the Chukchi Lease Sale 193, the area represents millions of acres of potential oil and gas development as a warming climate leaves more of the Alaskan coastal waters free of ice.Perhaps more importantly, the court also found that other scientific data on the Arctic's unique marine ecosystem was ...

It will strengthen cooperation between states in response to accidents On 12 May 2011, in Nuuk, Greenland, Foreign Ministers and leaders of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Council met to set out future policy for the Arctic Council.Lene Espersen, Foreign Minister of Denmark and outgoing chair of the Arctic Council states- Denmark is very satisfied with the result of the ministerial meeting in Nuuk. The Search and Rescue Agreement is ground-breaking, as it is the first legally binding agreement negotiated under the auspices of the Arctic Council and an important step towards safe shipping in the Arctic.The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, incoming chair of the Arctic Council states- Arctic Countries need enhanced cooperation on many future challenges in the Arctic, not least prevention, preparedness and response to oil spills. As incoming chair we will press forward with this agenda.The Arctic Councilreleased a major study on environment that shows that climate change is having a more profound impact on the Arctic environment than previously understood. Substantial cuts in CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases are the backbone of global climate change efforts.Another Arctic Council study shows that soot (black carbon), ground level ozone and methane may account for up ...

Arctic temperatures in the past six years were the highest since 1880 A new assessment of climate change in the Arctic shows the region's ice and snow are melting faster than previously thought and sharply raises projections of global sea level rise this century.The report by the international Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, or AMAP, is one of the most comprehensive updates on climate change in the Arctic, and builds on a similar assessment in 2005.The full report will be delivered to foreign ministers of the eight Arctic nations next week, but an executive summary including the key findings was obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.It says that Arctic temperatures in the past six years were the highest since measurements began in 1880, and that feedback mechanisms believed to accelerate warming in the climate system have now started kicking in.It also shatters some of the forecasts made in 2007 by the U.N.'s expert panel on climate change.The cover of sea ice on the Arctic Ocean, for example, is shrinking faster than projected by the U.N. panel. The level of summer ice coverage has been at or near record lows every year since 2001, AMAP said, predicting that the Arctic ...

Requests will be postponed if the fees for the season are too high Shipowners interested in sending vessels over the northern sea route between Europe and Asia are still waiting to hear what fees will be imposed for icebreaker escorts.The Russian authorities have had up to 15 inquiries regarding vessels seeking to transit the Siberian Arctic waters during the short summer window.Owners and experts at the Arctic Shipping Summit in Helsinki, however, believe that some of these requests will not materialise into transits if the fees for the season are too high.Parts of the northern sea route require passage through Russian territorial waters, and as a result the country demands that vessels take an icebreaker escort.

New trade routes and opportunities emerge The opening of the Arctic is set to transform the balance of global equity as new trade routes and opportunities emerge.For the first time ever the Arctic waters were dominated by first-year, rather than multi-year, ice, according to the head of the Scott Polar Research Institute, Paul Berkman. This would allow vessels with ice-class notation rather than icebreaker notation to access the region.This fact will lead to increased activity, particularly with shipping, which will include more interest in transiting the northeast and northwest passages.

Requests will not materialise into transits if the fees are too high Shipowners interested in sending vessels over the northern sea route between Europe and Asia are still waiting to hear what fees will be imposed for icebreaker escorts.The Russian authorities have had up to 15 inquiries regarding vessels seeking to transit the Siberian Arctic waters during the short summer window.Owners and experts at the Arctic Shipping Summit in Helsinki, however, believe that some of these requests will not materialise into transits if the fees for the season are too high.Parts of the northern sea route require passage through Russian territorial waters, and as a result the country demands that vessels take an icebreaker escort.

Effort to extend warning areas Five new areas for navigational and meteorological warnings in the Arctic will go fully operational this summer.With the increased amount of maritime traffic in the arctic regions, the International Maritime Organization endorsed efforts in 2006 to extend navigational and meteorological warning areas into the Arctic.Five new areas were established in June last year. Canada, Norway and Russia will maintain the new areas and ensure information and data is kept up to date.

Aggressive action is needed International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has warned that failure to pay ship agents promptly in accordance with contractual agreements can have serious consequences for shipowners, and can potentially involve them in costs which far exceed any unpaid invoices.In the latest issue of its Claims Review, ITIC cites the case of a South American ship agent which was owed $25,000 by the owners of a cruise ship in respect of crew costs and supplies. The costs had been incurred over the course of a number of port calls and, when reminders and chasers to the owners failed to elicit payment, it was decided that more aggressive action was needed.ITIC ascertained that the ship was chartered to a cruise line, was due to sail from a port in the Canadian Arctic for the High Arctic, and had no apparent plans to revisit South American waters. ITIC instructed Canadian lawyers to arrest the ship where it was, in the Canadian Arctic, and within hours of the arrest being served the owners had paid all outstanding debts in full."The owners admitted that they did not think that anyone would be able to arrest the ship in such a desolate place," ...