The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of April 5, 2021
MSC Doubles Down on Commitment to Avoiding Arctic Shipping Routes
The second largest shipping company in the world, Swiss-Italian MSC: Mediterranean Shipping Company, has reaffirmed its position to avoid sending vessels through the Northern Sea Route, Maritime Logistics Professional reported on April 1. Citing environmental concerns, the company doubled down on their 2019 claim to circumvent the Northern Sea Route, including the Northeast and Northwest Passages, in an effort to limit black carbon and other environmental impacts. Competitors Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have made similar pledges to avoid the route. (High North News, Maritime Logistics Professional, Port News)
Take 1: In light of recent public debate on container shipping in the Arctic, spurred by the blockage in the Suez Canal and Rosatom’s twitter statements last week, the Northern Sea Route is gaining increased attention as a possible alternative route. Extending from Russia’s border with Norway to the Bering Strait near Alaska, the Northern Sea Route is far shorter than the Suez Canal route and cuts sea transport times from Asia to Europe. MSC’s statement against using this route is therefore significant, as it gives voice to mounting environmental concern about pollutants in an already environmentally sensitive Arctic.
Russia Enlarges Claim to Arctic Seabed
Russia formally extended its claim to the Arctic Ocean seabed, Arctic Today reported on April 4. The claim, enlarged by two extensions filed last Wednesday, now extends from the North Pole to Canada and Greenland’s exclusive economic zones, and avoids waters north of Alaska, where Russian vessels collected data in 2020. Russian claims currently cover around 70 percent of the Arctic Ocean seabed, and estimates indicate that the proposed claim will extend Russian jurisdiction by approximately 705,000 square kilometers. (Arctic Today)
Take 2: Russian proposed extension of claim in the Arctic Ocean has a number of implications. Should the claim be successful, Russia will have rights to the resources in this region’s seabed, including oil, gas, and minerals, while also having the power to regulate shipping traffic in the area. These claims do not cover the resources in the water column, the surface, or the airspace however, but getting access to the region’s valuable seabed resources and more control over shipping in the area will definitely still help strengthen the country’s position in the Arctic and on the world stage. The claim therefore has the potential to step on toes, but as Arctic Today suggests; as long as the process follows guidelines set out by the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the states involved are amenable to the expansion. The UNCLOS states that claims can be extended if new data are made available. This means that the specific extension of claim might not necessarily be increasing tensions between Russia and other Arctic states.
Satellite Images Reveal Concerning Build Up of Russian Military Strength
Russia is amassing increased military power in the Arctic, and testing advanced weapons on its coastline, CNN reported on Monday, April 5. Seeking to secure the Northern Sea Route due to warming ice, Russia is upgrading military bases and airfields that have been abandoned since the end of the USSR. Western officials and weapons experts are concerned about the Poseidon 2M39 torpedo, which is under development and expected to be tested later this year. Satellite images given to CNN by US space technology company Maxar Technologies illustrate a continuous build-up of Russian military might on the Arctic coast, including this “super weapon.” (CNN, High North News, The Moscow Times)
Take 3: The weapons pile up is significant as it points to the mounting militarization of the Arctic, which many Arctic nations wish to avoid. Although arguments were made last month for increasing communication between the Defense Chiefs for both Russia and the United States, there is as of yet no plan to structure dialogue. The Pentagon addressed this build-up in a press briefing on Monday, and claimed to be monitoring the situation closely. However, the United States is also amassing its own military might in the interest of securing its own resources in the Arctic. The overall build up in the region is concerning, as it indicates that the Arctic may soon transition from being a theatre of productive intergovernmental dialogue, to a region defined by defensive strategies.
Opposition Claims Victory in Greenland, Clouding the Future of Arctic Mining
Greenland’s main opposition party, Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) has won a clear victory in the parliamentary election, BBC reported early on Wednesday, April 7. Claiming 36.6 percent of the vote, IA unseated Siumut, the social democratic party that has held power in Greenland since it gained autonomy in 1979. Inuit Ataqatigiit is expected to claim 12 of the 31 seats in Inatsisartut, increasing its representation from the 8 seats it held previously. The left-wing party is an indigenous party with a strong environmental focus. As such, the result of the election raises questions about the future of the Kvanefjeld mine, the site of a controversial major resource development project in Southern Greenland. (BBC, Financial Times, France 24, The Times)
Take 4: The results of this parliamentary election have far-reaching impacts not only for Greenland, but many other nations as well. Greenland is home to the world’s biggest undeveloped deposits of rare earth minerals, and as ice melts as a result of warming temperatures in the Arctic, international mining companies are competing for the right to exploit these resources. Many nations are turning their attention to Greenland in order to reduce their dependence on China for key mineral supplies. However, the Inuit Ataqatigiit’s win in the Inatsisartut election is likely to delay or even halt mining operations at the Kvanefjeld site, owned by Australian company, Greenland Minerals. Although the mine was declared to have the potential to become an extremely significant producer of rare earth minerals for the western world, as well as providing a much-needed boost for the Greenlandic economy, radioactive pollution and toxic waste in the surrounding farmland was what prompted IA to pledge to block the project. The question is what alternative IA will have in place of this project to create the new jobs and diversified economy that are needed for Greenland to achieve its independence from Denmark.
Narwhal Tusks Tell a Troubling Tale of Pollution and Climate Change
Smithsonian Magazine reported on Monday, April 5 that an international team of researchers from Denmark, Canada, France, and Greenland have analyzed narwhal tusks to determine how climate change impacts Arctic species. Using 10 narwhal tusks gathered from northwestern Greenland between 1962 and 2010, the scientists investigated the layers of bone (which grow annually in a similar fashion to tree rings) to determine heavy metal accumulation associated with changes in diet and anthropogenic climate change. The study showed that by 1990, narwhals began to feed on smaller fish found in the open ocean, rather than their previous diet of large ice-dwelling fish, which coincides with a drop in sea ice cover at the same time. In addition, the study analyzed the rapid accumulation of mercury in the whales’ bodies after 2000, which points to increased human impact in the Arctic waters in recent decades. (CBC, BBC, Smithsonian Magazine, Popular Science)
Take 5: It is great to know that scientists who attempt to understand past climates and chemical composition of the atmosphere and ocean will use examples from nature to help illustrate historic events. Tree rings, coral deposits, and narwhal tusks are all influenced by the environment, and can tell researchers a great deal about the conditions of the atmosphere and ocean when layers grew. This study is significant in that it provides further evidence for anthropogenic climate change, as well as the impact of human activity on natural systems. Although a certain amount of mercury is expected in blubbery predators like narwhals and seals, the amount in these narwhals was startling, and suggested external forces at work. More research is needed but the current findings are important because they already now suggest that higher water temperatures may cause fish to accumulate more mercury. Considering both climate change and pollution in tandem is key to help scientists understand the multifaceted stressors impacting Arctic species.