The Arctic sea routes: marine environmental impacts on effect of the climate change and opening of the passages for international shipping traffic

The Arctic Sea Routes: Marine environmental impacts on effect of the climate change and opening of the passages for international shipping trafficDegree: MScThe Arctic Sea Route (ASR) can potentially halve the distance between the Far East and Europe.Although, the route was declared formally open for international shipping by Gorbachev in 1987.It was not used commercially, except by domestic Russian shipping companies.However, due to climate change and dramatic ice melting, there is an opportunity for the route to be used, at least in summer seasons, without ice breakers escort in the coming few years.Accordingly, both the shipping industry and the environment will be influenced by the use of these routes.In fact, there are two main routes that could be used within the Arctic area: the Northern Sea Route (NSR) over top of Russia and the Northwest passages above Canada, that connect Europe and North America with the Far East.The NSR is the first to be affected by the climate change; as a consequences, ships' traffic is expected to increase as both NW European countries and Far Eastern countries are expected to benefit from using these routes for the distance saving.Moreover, the Arctic region is an important destination due to its rich in natural resources.Consequently, due to the anticipated transit and the trade boom there will be some environmental consequences, as there will be a need for the ships transiting theses routes to dispose of oil sludge, garbage, sewage, and to manage its ballast, inter alia.In fact, the Arctic is a pristine natural environment, where wilderness and beauty is unique in that it is largely untouched by human beings.Actually, unlike Antarctica, the ASRs are not well covered by international pollution prevention instruments, or even considered Special Area (SA) under the MARPOL convention.Therefore, there is a need v to organize an international regime to regulate the marine environmental protection in the Arctic.In this paper, the major threats to the natural environment of the Arctic, resulting from the main pollutants, and the feasibility of applying pollution combating techniques in such an environment will be researched.The threats to the environment are primarily due to accidental pollution and operational pollution.However, radioactive waste and other problems will also be discussed.Consequently, the industry should take the necessary steps to adopt and implement a new international environmental instrument in the ASR.As a marine environmental researcher and an ex-seafarer, I believe that it is rational and necessary to take proactive measures now, in order to set up an international instrument to regulate environmental protection in the ASR.