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Ice-Breaking Fleets of the United States and Canada: Assessing the Current State of Affairs and Future Plans

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Ice-Breaking Fleets of the United States and Canada: Assessing the Current State of Affairs and Future Plans sustainability Article Ice-Breaking Fleets of the United States and Canada: Assessing the Current State of Affairs and Future Plans Megan Drewniak 1, Dimitrios Dalaklis 2 , Anastasia Christodoulou 2 and Rebecca Sheehan 3,* 1 U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Safety Unit Toledo, Toledo, OH 43604, USA; [email protected] 2 Maritime Safety and Environmental Administration, World Maritime University, 211 18 Malmö, Sweden; [email protected] (D.D.); [email protected] (A.C.) 3 U.S. Coast Guard on Secondment, Maritime Safety and Environmental Administration, World Maritime University, 211 18 Malmö, Sweden * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: In recent years, a continuous decline of ice-coverage in the Arctic has been recorded, but these high latitudes are still dominated by earth’s polar ice cap. Therefore, safe and sustainable shipping operations in this still frozen region have as a precondition the availability of ice-breaking support. The analysis in hand provides an assessment of the United States’ and Canada’s polar ice- breaking program with the purpose of examining to what extent these countries’ relevant resources are able to meet the facilitated growth of industrial interests in the High North. This assessment will specifically focus on the maritime transportation sector along the Northwest Passage and consists of four main sections. The first provides a very brief description of the main Arctic passages. The second section specifically explores the current situation of the Northwest Passage, including the relevant navigational challenges, lack of infrastructure, available routes that may be used for transit, potential choke points, and current state of vessel activity along these routes. The third one examines the economic viability of the Northwest Passage compared to that of the Panama Canal; the fourth and final section is investigating the current and future capabilities of the United States’ and Canada’s ice-breaking fleet. Unfortunately, both countries were found to be lacking the necessary assets with Citation: Drewniak, M.; Dalaklis, D.; ice-breaking capabilities and will need to accelerate their efforts in order to effectively respond to the Christodoulou, A.; Sheehan, R. growing needs of the Arctic. The total number of available ice-breaking assets is impacting negatively Ice-Breaking Fleets of the United the level of support by the marine transportation system of both the United States and Canada; these States and Canada: Assessing the two countries are facing the possibility to be unable to effectively meet the expected future needs Current State of Affairs and Future because of the lengthy acquisition and production process required for new ice-breaking fleets. Plans. Sustainability 2021, 13, 703. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020703 Keywords: arctic shipping; infrastructure support; ice-breaking vessel; sustainability Received: 11 December 2020 Accepted: 10 January 2021 Published: 13 January 2021 1. Introduction Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu- An extremely simplistic definition of the “Arctic,” would be to describe it as the areas tral with regard to jurisdictional clai- around the North Pole. This region was, until recently, considered a harsh and unap- ms in published maps and institutio- proachable environment; but, unprecedented climate change (e.g., significant decline of nal affiliations. the oceanic ice cover, rising atmospheric and ocean temperatures) combined with techno- logical advances now available to mitigate adverse environmental conditions, provide an extraordinary opportunity to capitalize on a plethora of untapped resources. The Arctic is considered a promising field for future economic activities, such as offshore energy and Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Li- exploration, tourism, fishing, and last but not least, maritime transport. The promise for censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article shorter voyages from Asia toward Europe and/or the Americas (and vice-versa) is very distributed under the terms and con- enticing; navigation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and/or the Northwest Passage ditions of the Creative Commons At- (NWP) is now more feasible [1,2]. It is therefore no coincidence that the Arctic region tribution (CC BY) license (https:// has become a site of intense geopolitical intrigue between practitioners and spectators of creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ geopolitics and international relations [3–7]. 4.0/). Sustainability 2021, 13, 703. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020703 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 20 Sustainability 2021, 13, 703 2 of 20 become a site of intense geopolitical intrigue between practitioners and spectators of geo- politics and international relations [3–7]. BeforeBefore proceeding proceeding any any further, further, it itis isnecessa necessaryry to clarify to clarify that that for forthe thepurposes purposes of the of analysisthe analysis in hand, in hand, the “Arctic” the “Arctic” is defined is defined as the area as the containing area containing the Arctic the Ocean Arctic as Ocean well as as thewell respective as the respective territories territories of the ofStates the States with witha latitude a latitude higher higher than than the the Arctic Arctic Circle Circle (66°33(66◦33′48.3048.3″00 N);N); the the land land within thethe ArcticArcticCircle Circle is is divided divided among among eight eight countries: countries: Norway, Nor- way,Sweden, Sweden, Finland, Finland, the Russian the Russian Federation, Federation the United, the United States ofStates America of America (Alaska), (Alaska), Canada, Canada,Denmark Denmark (Greenland), (Greenland), and Iceland and (whereIceland it(w passeshere it through passes through the small the offshore small offshore island of islandGrimsey) of Grimsey) (Figure1 ).(Figure 1). FigureFigure 1. 1. MapMap of ofthe the Arctic Arctic from from the thePerry-Castenada Perry-Castenada Library Library Map MapCollection Collection Courtesy Courtesy of the ofUni- the versityUniversity of Texas of Texas Libraries, Libraries, The TheUniversity University of Texa of Texass at Austin. at Austin. The The dashed dashed blue blue circle circle indicates indicates the the definitiondefinition used used by by the the Arctic Arctic Council; Council; the the red red line line represents represents the the 10-degree 10-degree isotherm. isotherm. TheThe Arctic Arctic marine marine ecosystem ecosystem and and the the communi communitiesties that that depend depend upon upon it it continue continue to to experienceexperience unprecedented unprecedented changes changes as as a a result result of of warming warming air air temperatures, temperatures, declining declining sea sea ice,ice, and and warming warming waters waters [8]; [8]; their their survival survival and and ensuring ensuring a a prosperous prosperous future future will will require require certaincertain interventions, underunder the the notion notion of of sustainability. sustainability. The The 2019 2019 Arctic Arctic Report Report Card drawsCard drawsparticular particular attention attention to the to Bering the Bering Sea Region, Sea Region, where where declining declining winter winter sea ice sea exemplifies ice exem- plifiesthe potential the potential for sudden for sudden and extreme and extreme change. ch Overange. theOver past the forty-two past forty-two years, theyears, annual the annualaverage average sea-ice extentsea-ice has extent substantially has substantially decreased, decreased, melting trends melting have trends rapidly have accelerated, rapidly accelerated,and Arctic temperatures and Arctic temperatures have soared athave unprecedented soared at unprecedented rates; various rates; statistics various compiled statis- in ticsthe compiled 2019 Arctic in Reportthe 2019 Card Arctic continue Report toCard set continue new records to set to new back records up these to developments.back up these The average annual land surface air temperature north of 60 ◦C for October 2018–August 2019 was the second warmest since 1900 (after 2015/16) and the Arctic sea ice extent at Sustainability 2021, 13, 703 3 of 20 the end of summer 2019 was tied with 2007 and 2016 as the second lowest since satellite observations began in 1979. While statistical data show slight variation on a yearly basis, the annually averaged Arctic air temperature for the past six years (2014–2019) all exceeded previous records since 1900 and set a precedence that the Arctic region has embarked on a new normal [8]. Furthermore, it is useful to note that the winter sea ice extent in 2019 narrowly missed surpassing the record low set in 2018, leading to record-breaking warm ocean temperatures in 2019 on the southern shelf. Coupled with the sea ice extent, the thickness of the sea ice has also decreased, resulting in an ice cover that is more vulnerable to warming air and ocean temperatures as highlighted by the August mean sea surface temperatures in 2019 that were 1–7 ◦C warmer than the 1982–2010 August mean in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, the Laptev Sea, and Baffin Bay [8]. There is also a declining trend in the extent of the sea ice cover, particularly the oldest, thickest ice (>4 years old) that makes up just a small fraction of the sea ice cover. For comparison, in March 1985, at the end-of-winter maximum extent, 33% of the ice cover within the Arctic was made up of very old ice, but in March 2019 old ice constituted only 1.2% of the ice cover. While these trends seem to indicate less of a need for ice-breaking capabilities
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