National Geographic USA - 09.2019

Wrangel I.Wrangel I.

ALASKA (U.S.)

Bering Strait

Chukchi

Sea

Bering

Sea

Beaufort

Sea

East

Siberian

Sea

East

Siberian

Sea

East

Siberian

Sea

Yukon

M

ac

ke

nz

ie

PO

LA

R^

CO

DE

A

RE

A

PO

LA

R^

CO

DE

A

RE

A

TRANS-

ALASKA

PIPELINE

NORMAN

WELLS

PIPELINE

ARC

TIC^ C

IRCL

E

Ve

nta

Ma

ers

k^ ro

ute

Ve

nta

Ma

ers

k^ ro

ute

Sep

t. (^6)
The Venta Maersk
required assistance
from an icebreaker
on September 9.
Red Dog
mine port
Red Dog
mine port
Nome
Tuktoyaktuk
Magadan
Anchorage
Seward
Skagway
Valdez
Prudhoe
Bay
Nome
Tuktoyaktuk
Magadan
Anchorage
Seward
Skagway
Valdez
Prudhoe
Bay
Ship types in the Arctic
Paths of ships tracked in Sept. 2018
Oil and gas tankers 57
Fishing vessels 342
Includes oil by-products
Bulk carriers 50
Cruise ships 28
Container ships 5
Other 397
Unique ships
recorded in the
Polar Code area
879
In September 2018, when the area covered
by Arctic sea ice shrank to its annual minimum
and once again was far below the average of
previous decades, hundreds of ships navigated
the region. Last year the number of vessels
crossing waters governed by the international
Polar Code—a set of strict safety and environ-
mental rules—was 879, nearly 60 percent higher
than in 2012. As Arctic waters become reliably
open, more ships are venturing on new routes.
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
2012
100
0
200
300
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Oil and gas tankers*
All other ships
(in thousands of metric tons per month)
Total CO 2 emissions from ships in Polar Code area
TESTING
ALTERNATE
ROUTES
Last September the Danish Ve nt a
Maersk became the first container
ship to complete the Northern Sea
Route, traveling from East Asia to
northern Europe. The journey was
10 days shorter than the southern
route through the Suez Canal, but
it required the help of a Russian
icebreaker. Arctic shipping routes
aren’t expected to be cost-effective
until the region is more ice free.
MORE SHIPS, MORE EMISSIONS
Most Arctic traffic occurs in summer, but new ice-breaking
oil and gas tankers are able to operate year-round. These
tankers made up just 6 percent of all ships entering Polar
Code waters in 2018, but they burned so much fuel that
they were responsible for 33 percent of carbon emissions.
RILEY D. CHAMPINE, NGM STAFF;
SCOTT ELDER. SOURCES: PAME ARCTIC
SHIP TRAFFIC DATA (ASTD); NSIDC;
IHS MARKIT; SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY
Polar extraction
Bulk carriers transport
materials from northern
mines, such as zinc from
Alaska’s Red Dog mine
and iron ore from Cana-
da’s Mary River Mine.
EUROPE ASIA
AFRICA
Busan
Bremerhaven
(^13) , (^000) mi
8 , 500 mi Ve nt a
Maersk
route
Ve nt a
Maersk
route
Suez
Canal
route
Suez
Canal
route
ARCTIC^ CIRCLE
Suez Canal
(1,501 ships
in Sept. 2018)