Marine Log - September 2007 - (Page 4)

Nick Blenkey Senior Editorial Consultant Second Thoughts Action heats up around the North Pole W hile a lot of us in the Northern Hemisphere were enjoying the joys of summer weather— beach vacations, forest fires and the like—the TV news kept bringing us snippets of news from the Arctic. Thus, in July we were made acquainted with the exploits of Lewis Gordon Pugh, 37, a Brit who gave up a career as a maritime lawyer, to go swimming at the North Pole, with no more protection other than his goggles, Speedos and swimming hat. No, admiralty practice had not driven him mad. He was making a point about global warming. The next story from the Arctic, involved a group of Russians. This lot were slightly less eccentric in that they were in a submersible rather than swimming gear—and they were dropping a titanium Russian flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole. They, too, were making a point about global warming. In this case, that it is likely to make Arctic natural resources a whole lot more accessible in the notthat-distant future. The flag-drop was more of a symbolic gesture than anything else and took place in the course of an expedition, based on the research ship Akademik Fyodorov. The goal of the expedition was to establish if the North Pole zone relates geologically to the Siberian platform and if it is part of Russia’s continental shelf. That would apparently give Russia legislative grounds to claim territorial possession of the areas in a triangle marked off by Murmansk, the North Pole and the Chukotka Peninsula. The next actor to stride onto the Arc- tic stage was Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. On August 10, he took himself to Resolute Bay, which is the second most northern community in Canada. It’s not the North Pole, but describes itself as the gateway to it. Harper unveiled what he called “three new initiatives to bolster Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.” These were establishing a Canadian Forces Arctic Training Center in Resolute Bay, expanding and re-equipping the Canadian Rangers (a part-time reserve auxiliary) and setting up a deep water Arctic Docking and Refuelling Facility at what Harper referred to as “Port Nanisivik,” described as “strategically sited inside the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage.” The point to remember about the Northwest Passage is that, when it becomes usable by commercial shipping, it will dramatically reduce shipping distances between the Northern Atlantic and the Pacific. Canada says it is within Canadian territorial waters; everyone else says it is not. While it is a pleasant change to denounce Canada for arrogance (usually it is they who get to denounce the rest of us), we need to move on and note that Denmark is also after a slice of the Arctic pie. A Danish expedition, traveling aboard a Swedish icebreaker and assisted by a Russian nuclear icebreaker, is seeking evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,240-mile underwater mountain range, is attached to the Danish territory of Greenland. That would open the way for a Danish claim that could stretch all the way to the North Pole. All of these various claims would be asserted under UNCLOS (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). So where does this leave the U.S.? It is not yet a signatory to UNCLOS. However, back in May, President George W. Bush issued a statement saying he hoped the Senate would move rapidly to approve ratification. Meantime, on August 17, NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, in partnership with the University of New Hampshire’s Joint Hydrographic Center and the National Science Foundation, will embark on a four-week cruise to map a portion of the Arctic sea floor This is, in fact, the third expedition in a series of cruises aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy designed to map the sea floor on the northern Chukchi Cap. Scientists are exploring the region to better understand the potential for including it within the United States’ extended continental shelf under UNCLOS. While it is good to know that NOAA hasn’t been reduced to renting a Swedish or Russian icebreaker, it should be noted that the Healy is the Coast Guard’s only fairly modern icebreaker. The two others, the Polar Star and Polar Sea, are around 30 years old. It is high time, too, to augment this important Coast Guard capability with some new tonnage taking advantage of the latest icebreaker technology. nblenkey@sbpub.com 4 MARINE LOG SEPTEMBER 2007 www.marinelog.com http://www.fdgm.com http://www.fdgm.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - September 2007

Marine Log - September 2007 Contents Update Inside Washington High Speed Design Heads into New Waters The National Maritime Salvage Conference & Expo Guide China Aims for the Top Azipods: Just Add Ice Rigdon Scores Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory InfoDirect Ml Marketplace Last Word

Marine Log - September 2007

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