As Arctic Ice Melts, Shipping Grows

The reports that ships will be able to transit the Arctic and avoid the Panama and Suez Canals grow by the day. WSJ climate writers say the average sea ice has plunged by more than half since 1981. Also, the poles are heating up four times faster than the rest of the world. Ships that can make the north route will be able to get bigger and bigger.

The Trump Administration has just cut a deal with the Finnish government to make as many as 11 icebreakers to take advantage of the mentioned sea

WSJ reports, “A regular shipping line would be an industry landmark and a sign that melting Arctic ice is redrawing the trade map.” Russian ships have used the route most often.

Russian Shipping

The US does not want to be flanked by the Russians at the North Pole. The icebreakers are a sign of that. The wild idea of buying Greenland is as well. 

Carsten Ørts Hansen, head of Copenhagen Business School’s operations management department, recently wrote “The climate has opened up the Arctic door but geopolitics is deciding who gets to walk through it.”