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Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Tanada » Mon 15 May 2017, 11:18:28

(NEW YORK) — The Arctic, a mix of vast frozen tundra and expansive seas in the northernmost region of Earth, has become dramatically more complex and appealing to humans.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will join representatives from each of the eight nations with territory inside the Arctic Circle for a meeting of the Arctic Council, an organization focused on the sustainable development and environmental protection of the region.

At this meeting, representatives are expected to sign a binding agreement that would increase scientific cooperation in the Arctic, according to the State Department.

But the meeting belies the true race to militarize and exploit an untouched region of increased strategic importance.

As sea ice declines — largely due to global warming — valuable waterways have emerged, making it possible to access enormous amounts of untapped natural resources.

Now, Russia is leading the way to stake its claim, leaving the United States in its wake and creating new tensions between the two countries.

Last week, Paul Zukunft, the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, warned that Russia was gaining valuable influence in the Arctic by building up its military and industrial presence.

“They’ve got all their chess pieces on the board right now, and right now we’ve got a pawn and maybe a rook,” he told the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “If you look at this Arctic game of chess, they’ve got us at checkmate right at the very beginning.”

In the past few years, Russia has invested heavily in building up its military presence in the Arctic, constructing new bases, refurbishing Soviet-era ones and designing communications infrastructure.

Last month, ABC News was one of several foreign media outlets invited to visit the Alakurtti base, one of the refurbished bases located 250 miles from the northern port of Murmansk and on the border with Finland.

While not on the Northern Sea Route, which leads from the Norwegian and Barents seas to Japan, the base is useful for training forces in Arctic conditions and houses the country’s new “Arctic Brigade.”

A new Russian base on Franz Josef Land, an empty icy archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, boasts 150 personnel and air defense units. It is Russia’s northernmost installation and will officially be commissioned in the second half of 2017, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

Three more bases are in the works, in addition to an air defense shield that Russia says will cover much of its northern coast.

Russian officials cite access to natural resources and shipping routes as a primary need for the country’s growing military presence.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 30 percent of the world’s untapped gas reserves (108 trillion cubic feet), 13 percent of its oil reserves (about 90 billion barrels) and $1 trillion in minerals lie in the Arctic region.

But there are still challenges associated with harvesting gas and oil reserves. Equipment needs to withstand the harsh climate, and employees expect higher wages to work in such isolated conditions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The eight nations of the Arctic — Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States — also have overlapping and disputed claims of sovereignty, as well as differing expectations for how environmental concerns will be taken into account when extracting natural resources.

Increased transport of oil and gas also raise the possibility of a potential spill or other environmental damage.

Despite these challenges, the ability to ship these resources is becoming easier as global warming opens up shipping routes.

While Arctic routes don’t rival large southern routes such as the Panama Canal, they still decrease travel time for the “over-the-pole” transits. Some researchers estimate by 2030 it will take an average of just 22 days to go from North America and Europe to Japan.

The Northern Sea Route saw 300 different ships conduct more than 1,700 voyages, according to the 2017 Arctic Shipping Forum.

Two-thirds of those ships were Russian, and 42 percent transported raw materials such as oil and natural gas. The number of ships transiting the Northern Sea Route is only expected to grow.

Zukunft pointed out the disparity between Russia and the United States in necessary hardware, such as ice breakers that open shipping lanes for commercial and military vessels. Russia has 40 of them; the U.S. has two. To make matters worse, only one of the two ice breakers is available, something Zukunft told CSIS he loses sleep over.

He’s hoping Congress will fund the construction of six new ice breakers by 2023 to counter Russia’s Arctic prominence.

The Department of Defense at least appears aware of its blind spots, acknowledging in a December 2016 report that U.S. forces need to enhance their capabilities in the region.

The report also sends a clear warning to Russia not to overstep its boundaries in the Arctic.

“In light of the Russian violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, and Russia’s efforts to intimidate its neighbors, [the Department of Defense] will continue a robust cycle of training and exercises in Europe under Operation Atlantic Resolve and will continue investments in improved posture and capabilities when needed by the combatant commanders,” the report reads.

It’s not to say the U.S. has no military presence at all in the Arctic. Thule Air Base in Greenland, the Air Force’s northernmost base, houses the 21st Space Wing and 821st Air Base Group.

But if Russia’s ambitions are any indication, the race for the Arctic has only just begun.

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.


http://kwbe.com/abc_world/as-new-fronti ... d35908283/
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Tanada » Mon 15 May 2017, 11:21:24

Government aims for redesign of Arctic administration
The Northern Sea Route Administration is likely to boost its role in Russian Arctic affairs. It should take on responsibility for regional infrastructure development and the management of nuclear icebreakers, government says.

The Ministry of Transport proposes to transfer the management of the nuclear-powered icebreakers from state nuclear power company Rosatom to the Northern Sea Route Administration. The proposal is supported by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his Deputy Dmitry Rogozin, Kommersant reports.

Ministry representative Vitaly Klyuyev confirms to the newspaper that the Northern Sea Route Administration should become a so-called integrated logistical operator in the Arctic. That includes responsibility for regional hydrography, emergency, rescue and preparedness, as well as the management of nuclear-powered icebreakers.

The proposal comes after President Putin in the recent Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk made clear that he had commissioned his government to create «a separate structure responsible for the complex development of the Northern Sea Route and its adjacent territories, including infrastructure, hydrography, security, management and all other needed services».

That was followed up in government meeting on Arctic infrastructure development in Murmansk in April.

The transfer of powers to the Northern Sea Route Administration will help increase efficiency and save money, the Transport Ministry argues. The proposal includes transfer of responsibilities not only from Rosatom, but also from port development company Rosmorport, the State Marine Rescue Service (Gosmorspassluzhba) and the Russian Sea-River Fleet (Rosmorrechflot).

Currently, the Moscow-based Northern Sea Route Administration primarily deals with traffic regulations in Russian Arctic waters, including the issuing of sailing permissions.

If Rosatom loses its control of the nuclear icebreaker fleet it will be a blow to the company’s activities in the Arctic. Over the last years, Rosatom has significantly expanded its engagement in the region. Several major contracts have been signed with industrial stakeholders, including Norilsk Nickel and Novatek.

Rosatom has also been leading the development program on building of new nuclear-powered icebreakers. Three powerful LK-60 vessels are currently under construction at the Baltic Yard in St. Petersburg. The first of the ships, the «Arktika» was put on the water in June 2016. Construction of the two other vessels, the «Ural» and the «Sibir», was launched in May 2015 and July 2016. The yard’s construction contract with Rosatom amounts to 123 billion rubles

Rosatom has since 2008 managed the nuclear icebreaker fleet. The vessels, a total of four icebreakers and one container ship, are all based in Atomflot, a port facility in the Kola Bay.


https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/2017/ ... nistration
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Tanada » Mon 15 May 2017, 11:23:03

Putin proposes new way of using Northern Sea Route


Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a possibility of the creation of a fundamentally new global transport configuration in the Eurasian space with the use of the Northern sea route (NSR).

“We are investing significant resources in the development of the Northern sea route to make it globally competitive transportation artery,” – Putin said, speaking in Beijing at the opening of the “One Belt, One Road” international forum.

As President of the Russian Federation noted, “on a broader scale, infrastructure projects announced within the framework of EurAsEC (The Eurasian Economic Community – editor’s note), as well as initiatives of “One Belt, One Road” in conjunction with NSR are able to create a fundamentally new transport configuration of the Eurasian continent”.

“This is a key to the development and revival of economic and investment activity. Let us work together to pave the ways of development and prosperity,” Vladimir Putin urged.


http://russianconstruction.com/news-1/2 ... route.html
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby dissident » Mon 15 May 2017, 22:33:59

All the agit-prop about Russia causing tensions. Drivel for morons. The shipping in the near future is going to be 99% through Russia's EEZ and not through the mythical North-West passage which goes through shallow rocky channels in the Canadian Archipelago. So all the pollution and other gross law breaking will be costing Russia and not the USA. Russia is doing the obvious and legal thing by building up capacity to enforce compliance with international law in this new shipping lane.

The US always uses the same "freedom of navigation" fig leaf to push it its imperial agenda. Be it by trampling on Canadian sovereignty or appointing itself the police in the South China Sea. Clearly Uncle Scam is eager to start policing Russia's EEZ in the name of some BS pretext. Ultimately it is Uncle Scam who wants to militarize this region since he has big plans to deploy ship based ABM components all along Russia's northern shore in the insane delusion that a he will be able to stage a first strike nuclear attack.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Tanada » Tue 16 May 2017, 12:40:13

Fears about unfair reporting aside the fact of the matter is Arctic Shipping is a booming industry.

20 years ago there was some talk about the new oil tankers Russia had ordered from shipyards with icebreaker bows on them and strengthened hulls so they could safely navigate the Arctic ocean close to year around in all but the heaviest ice conditions.

Today because of changed conditions there are increasing numbers of conventional hull ships plying the Arctic as they seek to short cut from Europe to Asia or Asia to the East Coast of North America. China/Japan/South Korea are all quite pleased with the idea of taking the northern sea route to access Western Europe and Eastern North America. By doing so they avoid the Suez Canal and its fees or the Panama Canal and its fees along with the extra time they have to pay the crew for working and the extra fuel they have to burn on those longer routes.

Some time ago I did a back of the envelope calculation that by taking the northern route a Chinese freighter can make three round trips to either Rotterdam, NL or NYC, USA in the same time it could make only two round trips via Suez or Panama respectively. Time is money as they like to say, and the Northern Sea Route effectively allows them to save a third to half on shipping costs. It even means in effect that if they want to import say Coal they can now choose between eastern North American hard coal from Pennsylvania/West Virginia shipped from the east coast or western North American bituminous coal from Montana shipped from the west coast for roughly the same shipping cost.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Tanada » Tue 16 May 2017, 14:36:40

pstarr wrote:Let me get this right: we can't afford to produce new oil from the arctic (see the $billions squandered by Shell in its failed attempt) but we are going to burn up oil in the arctic to save energy?

Color me confused. :idea:


Gosh Pete when did you move to China and become a international shipping company? I missed the notice that you did any such thing.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Cog » Tue 16 May 2017, 15:04:05

We need to get up there right now and build our bases before the Russians turn the Arctic into their private ocean.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Cog » Tue 16 May 2017, 15:11:34

Gender fluidity?
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Tanada » Tue 16 May 2017, 15:43:35

pstarr wrote:What leads you to believe my first name is Pete? Why not Paul? Or Paulina? As I understand it you are a woman. Why not me?

But that's water under the flooded bridge lol Neither here nor there Of course you wouldn't ever abuse your moderator/insider status to dox a member. Right?


The fact you have been answering to Pete without complaint for over a decade certainly left that appearance. If you object that is fine I won't refer to you by that name in the future.

If you have a problem with moderation policies or actions you know you are to use the PM system to voice your complaint. Consider this your warning for publicly whining about moderation instead of following the procedure you are fully aware of after 13 years of being a member here.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby vtsnowedin » Tue 16 May 2017, 15:54:19

Tanada wrote:Fears about unfair reporting aside the fact of the matter is Arctic Shipping is a booming industry.

20 years ago there was some talk about the new oil tankers Russia had ordered from shipyards with icebreaker bows on them and strengthened hulls so they could safely navigate the Arctic ocean close to year around in all but the heaviest ice conditions.

Today because of changed conditions there are increasing numbers of conventional hull ships plying the Arctic as they seek to short cut from Europe to Asia or Asia to the East Coast of North America. ....
......

We have talked about this before. Even with the recent reduction in summer ice the open water season is still just a few weeks long and can't compare with the year round access and use of the Panama and the Suez canals. Even using the big ice breakers the Russians are building to extend the season will not make the route cheaper then the canal charges because the ice breaker escorts have to be paid for somehow.
I don't expect that the tonnage shipped by both northern routes to exceed ten percent of either canal for decades to come.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Tanada » Tue 16 May 2017, 16:18:57

vtsnowedin wrote:
Tanada wrote:Fears about unfair reporting aside the fact of the matter is Arctic Shipping is a booming industry.

20 years ago there was some talk about the new oil tankers Russia had ordered from shipyards with icebreaker bows on them and strengthened hulls so they could safely navigate the Arctic ocean close to year around in all but the heaviest ice conditions.

Today because of changed conditions there are increasing numbers of conventional hull ships plying the Arctic as they seek to short cut from Europe to Asia or Asia to the East Coast of North America. ....
......

We have talked about this before. Even with the recent reduction in summer ice the open water season is still just a few weeks long and can't compare with the year round access and use of the Panama and the Suez canals. Even using the big ice breakers the Russians are building to extend the season will not make the route cheaper then the canal charges because the ice breaker escorts have to be paid for somehow.
I don't expect that the tonnage shipped by both northern routes to exceed ten percent of either canal for decades to come.


Neither canal is in any danger of being put out of business. For one thing oil shipping out of the Persian Gulf has no reason not to use the Suez Canal and by the same token Venezuelan oil bound for China is likely to continue using the Panama Canal.

That being said the NSR is not an insignificant player in the world wide picture and with the decline in Arctic ice cover that has been going on in fits and starts since 2007 things will continue to get easier along the NSR than they have been in the past. Here are some stats to contemplate, lots of graphs at link below the quote.

Unfavorable ice conditions during the months of June and July 2016 resulted in a late start to the transit season. As the result of this the 2016 transit shipping season was the shortest of the past five years, lasting 124 days. This compares to 133 days in 2015, 141 days in 2014, 153 days in 2013 and 148 days in 2012.

In line with the increase in overall traffic on the NSR, transit traffic also increased. In total, 19 vessels carrying 214,500 tons of cargo traveled the full length of the route from Europe to Asia or vice versa. This represents a significant increase in cargo volume over 2015 when the route saw a record low with just 18 transits carrying 39,000 tons. However, while transit cargo volume increased significantly year-over-year, it is still far off its peak of 2012 when more 1.2 millions tons transited the NSR.

http://www.highnorthnews.com/shipping-t ... 0-percent/

As for shipments of Russian oil to Korea/Japan/China the following reality applies. If this year is as bad as last year and the season only last 124 days that still amounts to four out of 12 months when shipping north is a viable alternative to using either of the canals.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Newfie » Tue 16 May 2017, 18:33:18

Cog wrote:We need to get up there right now and build our bases before the Russians turn the Arctic into their private ocean.


Take a look at a map, preferably centered on the North Pole. About half of the Arctic IS their private ocean. And most of the rest belongs to Canada, especially all those tricky places where you need to navigate between rocks and ice.

Other than the Bearing Strats, which I believe to be open to international shipping, we just don't have a lot there.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Cog » Tue 16 May 2017, 19:30:14

We just have to make Canada an offer they can't refuse. The Canadians drink milk from bags, which is bad, but besides that they are capitalists just like us. They understand what is at stake up there.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby vtsnowedin » Tue 16 May 2017, 19:47:23

Newfie wrote:
Cog wrote:We need to get up there right now and build our bases before the Russians turn the Arctic into their private ocean.


Take a look at a map, preferably centered on the North Pole. About half of the Arctic IS their private ocean. And most of the rest belongs to Canada, especially all those tricky places where you need to navigate between rocks and ice.

Other than the Bearing Strats, which I believe to be open to international shipping, we just don't have a lot there.

Nothing compared to what the Russians can claim but the wedge from the Bering strait to the border between Alaska and the Canadian Yukon north to the pole is a considerable piece of .. "ocean state" that we will defend and exploit in time. And of course the Canadians as NATO allies will want us to help defend their much bigger wedge and will want to sell any resources produced there to us as their nearest market. Let the Russians have their big piece of the pie. They will probably need to contract with our corporations to develop it anyway.
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby Newfie » Tue 16 May 2017, 21:00:22

Interesting comments on how to view Canadians, seeing as how I'm a dual USA/Canadian citizen.

Some years ago Canada had more ambitious plans for an expanded Arctic patrol fleet but that got greatly reduced. And it seems USA new war ships can't withstand bumping into the Panama Canal wall, some head on seas, and whose drive systems are too complicated to be properly maintained. Just what you need in the Arctic, delicate complicated aluminum ships that can't operste away from repair facilities.

Yeah, go USA we baaaad!
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Re: Arctic shipping to conserve energy.

Unread postby vtsnowedin » Tue 16 May 2017, 21:13:03

Newfie wrote:Interesting comments on how to view Canadians, seeing as how I'm a dual USA/Canadian citizen.

Some years ago Canada had more ambitious plans for an expanded Arctic patrol fleet but that got greatly reduced. And it seems USA new war ships can't withstand bumping into the Alabama Canal wall, some head on seas, and whose drive systems are too complicated to be properly maintained. Just what you need in the Arctic, delicates complicated aluminum ships that can't operste away from repair facilities.

Yeah, go USA we baaaad!

No offense to the Canadians intended. They have always pulled their weight, and then some more, in each time of crisis. I doubt if the current state of USA navel architecture has spent much time on operations in the arctic considering how much time over the last decade they have been operating in an area centered around the Suez canal. They will adapt when the time comes in a helterskelter, why didn't you tell me way they always do.
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