Greenpeace’s vessel «Arctic Sunrise» has been released after nearly nine months of detention in Murmansk, following the organization’s demonstration against Arctic drilling in the Pechora Sea last fall.
Norway plans to let a research vessel freeze into the Arctic ice sheet and let it drift across the Arctic Basin with researchers aboard. Russia launches similar plans.
Shipping through the melting Arctic looks to be increasing fivefold this summer compared to 2012. 270 vessels have so far received permits to sail along the Northern Sea Route which connects East Asia to Europe via the waters off of Russia’s northern coast.
A new study has demonstrated that the extent of meltwater ponds early in the year is a better predictor of minimum sea ice extent for that year than any other method. This could be big news for industries looking to reliably penetrate higher into the Arctic.
TROMSØ: Asian states have four common interests in the Arctic – global governance, climate change, resources and Arctic shipping, says Ian Storey, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
Development of tourism is one of Russia’s prioritized areas to secure its presence on the archipelago of Svalbard. The state company Trust Arktikugol is now registered as a tour operator and could welcome its first guests to the Arctic wilderness.
