Sustainable Arctic Sea Routes in a Rapidly Changing Environment
Considering environmental changes in the Arctic Ocean, the use of Arctic sea routes (northeastern and northwestern passages) is expected to increase, with more low ice class ships and larger ships passing through. On the other hand, there are indications that waves may penetrate deep into the drifting ice areas and impede navigation, and that hard ice fragments from perennial ice and glaciers may drift into the shipping lanes.
Under these circumstances, in order to protect the Arctic sea environment and ensure the sustainable use of shipping routes, it is more important than ever to provide ice information on shipping routes to support safe navigation, to evaluate ship performance and safety based on scientific knowledge rather than experience-based assessments, and to respond to accidents. In addition, methods that enable the economical selection of routes and ships while ensuring safety are required.
In this Research Program, we addressed the following three issues with the aim of developing a method to support ship operations in the near future in light of environmental changes in the Arctic Ocean.
- Development of a method for generating sea ice information (including sea ice thickness and deformation ice information) to aid ship navigation
- Assessment of ship performance (speed and fuel consumption) and safety based on scientific methods
- Impact assessment and countermeasures for oil spills, a particular environmental risk
We also focused on the economic aspects of the above considerations and evaluated the economic and social spillover effects of an Arctic shipping route in the near future.
The ArCS II 2020-2025 Report, "4.8 Research Program on Arctic Sea Routes," (in Japanese) reports the results of this Research Program and provides insight into the progress being made to support safe and efficient ship operations in the Arctic Ocean under changing environmental conditions.