WASHINGTON – The Arctic Ocean is warming at an alarming rate, and the ability to navigate through the region with more ease is putting a greater demand on the U.S. Coast Guard to deal with threats to security.
“With increased activities in the Arctic come increased risk,” said Cmdr. Karin Messenger, deputy chief, emerging policy staff. “The remote nature of the region and the operational conditions will make any national or international emergency response, such as a mass rescue operation, challenging.”
The U.S. became an Arctic Nation in 1867 with the acquisition of Alaska. The U.S. Arctic domain encompasses almost 41,000 square miles with more than a dozen villages and towns.
The closest U.S. deep-water port to Barrow, Alaska – an Arctic population center on the northern coast Alaska typically only accessible by plane – is about 1,100 nautical miles away in the Aleutian Islands. The closest U.S. Coast Guard Air Station to Barrow is 945 nautical miles south of Barrow, in Kodiak, Alaska.
Alaska has warmed twice as fast as the lower 48 in the last 60 years, according to Coast Guard reports from 2013. But despite this warming, the response for the time being is limited and seasonal.
The U.S. Coast Guard has operated in arctic conditions before and has three ships that are capable of breaking through ice.
The Polar Star, the largest non-nuclear ice breaker in the world, is generally used in the Antarctic to aid in research funded by the National Science Foundation. The Polar Star only has 185 operational days every year and is more needed in the Antarctic where ice can be up to 90 stories high, according to Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Allyson Conroy based in Alameda, Calif.
Conroy said that the Coast Guard uses a medium-sized ship called Healy in the Arctic. The Polar Star’s sister ship, the Polar Sea, is not operational.
What remains to be seen is if the Arctic will become a conflict zone as different countries, not just the Arctic nations – Russia, Denmark, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and U.S. – vie for natural resources in the region.
The U.S. Coast Guard estimates the Artic to have 90 billion barrels of oil and an estimated 30 percent of the world’s natural gas preserves.
But, a Government Accountability Office study, published in mid-April, noted that unpredictable weather could severely hamper growth of commercial enterprises in the Arctic region. Sea trading deadlines could not be met in that kind of harsh environment, Lorelei St. James, director of the GAO infrastructure team, said.
“There are basic foundation issues that have to be faced,” St. James said, citing the fact that there are few maps of the region, and none complete. St. James predicts that at the pace the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is producing maps, it may be another 50 years before complete maps of the Arctic are ready for safe navigation throughout the region.
In addition, St. James added that it is still cheaper for oil to be gathered from land sources on the continental U.S. She speculated that the availability o on-land drilling for oil would decrease the likelihood of too much investment in exploration in the Arctic’s rough waters.
President Barack Obama issued the National Strategy for the Arctic Region in May 2013. The report highlighted the importance of creating an “area free of conflict, acting in concert with allies, partners, and other interested parties.” It outlined three objectives for the United States: advancing U.S. security interests, responsible stewardship, and strengthening international cooperation in the region.
Cmdr. Messenger, based in Washington, D.C., agrees with the president’s statements in emailed comments. “The Coast Guard continues to view the Arctic as an area for International cooperation and consensus building,” he said.
The new Arctic Coast Guard Forum, modeled after the North Pacific Coast Guard Forums, has been created to deal with some of the challenges of secure and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the North. The international organization is set to have its first executive level meeting in September, Messenger said.
While the North Pole has begun to really open up to commerce and tourism, the Coast Guard understands the challenges the region poses for security. Messenger concluded, “The Arctic continues to have a harsh, unpredictable climate and requires the Coast Guard, and all mariners, to remain vigilant to the constantly changing conditions.”
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