Northwest Passage

Things seem to be heating up (no pun intended) in the Northwest Passage. Just got this from a maritime mailing list.

"Cutter Hamilton begins historic Arctic patrol"

By Amy McCullough - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Aug 31, 2008 8:55:49 EDT All content © 2008, Army Times Publishing Company

"This isn’t a typical summer for the crew of the California-based cutter Hamilton, but these Coasties aren’t complaining as they sail into history.

After weeks of studying ice patterns and preparing for the arctic weather, the crew of the Hamilton is putting its training to use in its attempt to be the first non-ice-breaking vessel to conduct safety and security patrols in the Arctic.

Coast Guard Division 17 Commander Rear Adm. Arthur 'Gene' Brooks said the Hamilton’s 4,000-nautical mile journey through the Arctic is the 'final piece of the puzzle' the Coast Guard needs to put together for a comprehensive report outlining not only what its new responsibilities in that area include, but also what equipment will be necessary to complete the mission. Brooks said the report is due out 'sometime this fall.'

The continued melting of the Arctic ice caps, an increase in oil exploration and additional shipping and cruise routes in the polar region are taxing the fleet, which now is responsible for patrolling areas that used to be ice, Commandant Adm. Thad Allen has said."

Evidently this year is the first time on record that the entire passage is open for navigation.

From Spiegel online:

"Northeast and Northwest Passages Both Free of Ice

For the first time ever, both the Northwest and the Northeast Passages are
free of ice. Shipping companies have been waiting for this moment for
years, but they will have to wait a little while longer before they can
make use of the Arctic shortcut.

Shippers in Bremen are getting impatient. The Beluga Group, a shipping
company based in the northern German city, had planned to send a ship
through the Northeast Passage -- or the Northern Sea Route, as Russians
call it -- this summer, according to spokeswoman Verena Beckhausen. The
route leads from the Russian island Novaya Zemlya, off the northern coast
of Siberia, through the Bering Strait between far eastern Russia and Alaska.

This route is radically shorter than the normal trip through the Suez
Canal. From Hamburg to the Japanese port city of Yokohama, for example, the trip using the northern route is just 7,400 nautical miles -- just 40
percent of the 11,500 nautical mile haul through the Suez. Dangerous ice
floes normally block the shorter route, but as of a few days ago the
Northeast Passage is ice-free according to Christian Melsheimer of the
University of Bremen. Scientists at the university use data from the NASA
satellite "Aqua" to cobble together up-to-date maps of sea ice."

(Must have written by written by an English major ... the percentage is a bit off. )

More at:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,574815,00.html


So, who's going to be the first megayacht to make the trip?

"ICE" That would be fitting ... if it does it would be even better if the crew visited the St. Roch while they were in town.