THE INCREASE IN ARCTIC SHIPPING
2013-2019
THIS REPORT EXPLORES CURRENT SHIPPING IN THE ARCTIC
But, where is the Arctic?
Neither PAME nor the Arctic Council have established a single use definition of the Arctic
This report will use the area defined by the Polar Code.
The International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (the Polar Code) defines the Arctic as the area in the figure
Most ships that operate in this area must comply with the Polar Code.
The Polar Code covers the full range of design, construction, equipment, operational, training, search and rescue and environmental protection matters relevant to ships operating in the inhospitable waters of the Arctic.
There are many ways to measure the volume of shipping in a given geographic area.
One way is to count the number of unique ships in a specific area
This method counts each ship once even if it enters the geographic area multiple times.
Number of unique ships entering the IMO Arctic Polar Code area in September in each year from 2013-2019. Statistics from ASTD.
Ship tracks of all ships of all ship types in September 2019.
Shipping in the Arctic has increased in recent years.
Unique ships entering the Polar Code area 2013 and 2019.
A majority of these vessels are fishing vessels
In 2019 of all ships that entered the Polar Code area
41%
were fishing vessels.
ANOTHER WAY TO MEASURE THE INCREASE IN ARCTIC SHIPPING IS ”DISTANCE SAILED”
Distance sailed is the aggregated nautical miles vessels traveled in a certain period of time in a certain area.
The total distance sailed by all vessels increased by 75% in the Arctic Polar Code area from 2013 to 2019.
The total 2013 distance sailed by all vessels was approximately 6.51 million nautical miles.
In 2019, the total aggregated distance sailed had risen to over 9.5 million nautical miles.
As with unique ships - fishing vessels are dominant.
THE INCREASE IN SHIPPING COINCIDES WITH DEMINISHING SEA ICE IN THE ARCTIC
The images show the month of September each year. Images from the National and Snow Ice Data Center.
From the National Snow and Ice Center.
This graph from the U.S. National Snow And Ice Data Center (NSIDC) shows the Arctic sea ice extent in September.
The graph shows that over the last 10 years, average Arctic sea ice extent is decreasing.
NATURAL RESOURCE EXTRACTION IS ONE ACTIVITY CONTRIBUTING TO AN INCREASE IN ARCTIC SHIPPING
The following example shows an area within the Arctic Polar Code Area - experiencing increased activity from iron ore extraction.
From the Arctic Ship Traffic Data System (ASTD).
ALL OTHER VESSEL TYPES
SHOW A SIMILAR UPWARD TREND
PAME WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR TRENDS WITH ASTD
THE DATA CAN SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS
TO ENHANCE ARCTIC MARINE SAFETY AND SUPPORT PROTECTION OF PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
