Northeast Passage
The Northeast Passage, also known as the Northern Sea Route, is a significant maritime route that traverses the Arctic along the northern coast of Eurasia, primarily north of Siberia, Russia. Stretching from the Norwegian and Barents Seas, it encompasses the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas before reaching the Bering Strait. Historically, the route has been challenging to navigate due to thick ice cover, which restricts passage for most of the year. However, in recent decades, the effects of climate change have led to decreased ice coverage, enabling longer navigable periods.
The Northeast Passage has garnered increasing attention for its potential economic benefits, as it offers a shorter and safer alternative for shipping goods between Europe and Asia compared to traditional routes like the Suez Canal. This has prompted Russia to enhance its infrastructure, including the establishment of the Northern Sea Route Administration to manage shipping traffic and expand usage. Additionally, there is growing interest in the natural resources found in the Arctic region, such as oil and gas, which are becoming more accessible. Despite its potential, the Northeast Passage poses significant risks, including environmental concerns and logistical challenges due to its remote and desolate nature.
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Northeast Passage
The Northeast Passage is a maritime, or sea, route along the northern coast of the Eurasian landmass through the Arctic. Much of it is north of the coast of Siberia, Russia. The Northeast Passage is also called the Northern Sea Route, and in Russia is known as Severny Morskoy Put or Severoput.
The Northeast Passage stretches from the western reaches in the Norwegian and Barents Seas; skirts the Scandinavian Peninsula eastward to the Kara Strait; traverses through the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas; and travels southward through the Bering Strait that separates northeastern Siberian and western Alaska.
The Northeast Passage between the Kara and Bering Straits is frozen most of the year. This part is the most difficult to traverse because of the ice. Russia has established a channel of about 3,500 miles (5,600 kilometers) through this region. This channel, called the Northern Sea Route, has seen increasing traffic over the years.
Background
The idea of the Northeast Passage is closely related to that of the Northwest Passage. The Northwest Passage was a maritime route believed to cross the Arctic of North America. Many explorers sought this passage because it would provide a faster means of traveling between the continents and Atlantic and Pacific Oceans than available routes far south.
European exploration to find trade routes through the northernmost waters dates to the sixteenth century. Flemish merchant Olivier Brunel attempted to navigate the region during the 1560s and 1580s; Dutch navigator Willem Barents followed during the 1590s. He created accurate charts during his voyages that helped later explorers. Barents, for whom the Barents Sea is named, died after his ship became trapped, and he and his crew were forced to spend the winter on the ice.
The Russians had the most success, because the tsar sent explorers to the region. In 1728, Danish navigator Vitus Bering realized that Asia and North America were separate continents. He was unable to see the North American coast to confirm this deduction, however. In 1778, British captain James Cook finally was able to see both sides of the strait and confirm the presence of separate continents.
Because of the extreme cold of the Arctic, the Northeast Passage is frozen for most of the year. In the past, it was navigable only during brief periods in the summer. These constraints limited opportunities for exploration of the full passage. Swedish explorer Baron Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was the first to travel the entire Northeast Passage on his 1878 to 1879 expedition.
The Soviet Union (later Russia) began establishing a shipping lane during the 1920s. Parts of this Northern Sea Route were used during the summer months beginning in the 1930s. In 1934, a Soviet icebreaker, or ship designed to plow through ice, was the first vessel to travel the whole passage during one season. Ships carried supplies from the West Coast of the United States to Siberian ports between 1942 and 1945, during World War II (1939–1945). In the years after the war, the Soviet Union increased its fleet of icebreakers and extended the shipping season. Much of the cargo included pelts and lumber. By 1980, the western portion of the passage was in year-round use.
Use of the Northeast Passage increased in 1991, when the Soviet Union opened it to foreign shipping. Later that year, however, the nation fell. Russia experienced instability and economic crises, which left the passage largely idle. In the twenty-first century, however, Russian and foreign shippers increasingly used the passage. Russia improved its icebreakers and ports. Also by this time, lengthening warm periods left the waters relatively free of ice for longer periods. By 2010, foreign merchants, passenger ferries, and tanker ships were navigating the full length of the Northeast Passage.
Overview
The ice cap that extended from Siberia was once vast. It receded for a brief period each summer, when the weather warmed, but quickly returned. In 2005, coastal ice melted completely for the first time, and continued to disappear in following years. By 2013, the ice cap was almost completely gone during the summer, leaving some floes, or sheets of floating ice, that ships could more easily navigate around. For part of the year, the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and Chukchi Seas were all navigable without icebreakers to plow a path for ships. In many summers, vessels could be piloted through the Northeast Passage beginning in July and continue into December with icebreaker support.
The availability of this route is of economic benefit to many companies and industries. The journey between the same areas by way of the Suez Canal in Egypt takes three times longer than traveling through the Northeast Passage. Shorter trips require less fuel, and a shorter journey means companies can devote resources including the vessels and crews elsewhere. The Northeast Passage is safer in some respects because the longer route through the Suez Canal brings the risk of encountering pirates that operate in the Indian Ocean.
Russia established the Northern Sea Route Administration (NSRA) to accept applications and issue permits to use the passage. Russia claims the entire Northeast Passage falls within its territory, although some parts of the route are in international waters. The country stands to benefit economically from increased traffic through the area because it can charge vessels to use the route. Russia also benefits from providing icebreaker escorts to help ships navigate the passage through the NSRA. As Arctic cruises have become more popular, tourists interested in viewing wildlife and other attractions, such as the Aurora Borealis, may also journey the waters off Siberia in greater numbers.
Furthermore, Russia is interested in natural resources, including natural gas deposits that are becoming more accessible due to the prolonged thaw in northwestern Siberia. If Russia can access the oil and natural gas in the region, it can also ship it to one of its largest customers, China, by way of the Northern Sea Route.
The extreme desolation of the Arctic region poses several problems. Few settlements in the area are occupied. A ship that has mechanical problems would have to wait days for rescue. No shipyards are located in the passage, and few ports exist, so repairs cannot be made to ships in the isolated region. A tanker carrying substances such as petroleum could create an environmental disaster if it hit ice or the bottom of a shallow strait and ruptured, spilling contaminants. Ships traveling through the region are not required to have specially reinforced hulls to guard against ice.
Bibliography
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