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Melting polar cap allowing more shipping

NOME, Alaska, Oct. 12 (UPI) --

The shrinking polar ice cap is creating shipping and environmental
protection issues in the formerly isolated town of Nome, Alaska, city
officials said.

The Northwest Passage, which links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans
north of Canada, had periods of ice-free ship travel in 2007 and 2008.
Experts predict that by the end of the century, the passage will see
120 or more practically ice-free ship travel days per year, the Los
Angeles Times reported Sunday.

A record ice melt last year for the first time opened both the
Northwest and the Northeast Passages north of Russia, for several
weeks.

Due to the climate changes, Nome's ship traffic has multiplied to
eight times its 1990 volume. Nome has spent nearly $90 million
expanding its port to allow in bigger ships.

The anticipated increase in shipping traffic has caused concerns about
how to regulate maritime operations regulations for protecting a
fragile and quickly changing natural environment.

There are currently no international laws on the types of ships that
can operate in the Arctic. There are also no regulations for ships'
waste discharges or for cleaning oil spills under icy conditions.

The Obama administration will soon decide whether to allow offshore
drilling in Alaska to tap into billions of barrels of oil and natural
gas.

"What's really driving marine activity in the Arctic is not climate
change. It's global economics," said Lawson Brigham, a former Coast
Guard commander and chair of the international Arctic Council's marine
shipping assessment.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International
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