Fairway 30 - Royal Institute of Navigation

THE ARCTIC – THE WHITE FRONTIER
Captain Michael Lloyd, Senior Advisor, Witherby Seamanship International Ltd.
Captain Michael Lloyd is one of the four authors of the new Ice Navigation Manual
shortly to be published by Witherby Seamanship International Ltd. His experience
together with that of the other authors ensures that this new book is the most
comprehensive guide to Ice Navigation ever published covering all aspects of navigation
and seamanship in ice covered waters. This article follows his excellent talk at a Joint
Informal Meeting onboard HQS Wellington in February.
The Arctic consists of ocean of over 14 million square kilometres (5,427,000 sq. miles),
almost the size of Russia, surrounded by continental land masses and islands. The central
Arctic Ocean is ice-covered throughout the year and snow and ice are present on land for
most of the time.
The Arctic Circle starts at 66 degrees 32 minutes north which marks the latitude above
which the sun does not rise on the winter solstice, the 21 st of December and does not set
on the summer solstice, the 21 st of June. North of this latitude are the continuous periods
of day and night which last up to 6 months at the North Pole. The central surface is
covered by a permanent drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 metres in thickness.
This is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during
the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50%
continental shelf with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine
ridges. (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)
Arctic Claims
Under the law of the Sea, outside a nations 12 mile sovereignty, there is a 200 mile limit
which is a nations exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that, while not giving sovereignty,
allows a nation to control economic activity within their EEZ.
The continental shelf commences where the land meets the sea and ends at the upper
edge of the continental slope. In the Arctic Ocean, there is no gradual sloping of the
continental shelf that could cause dispute as to where this ends; therefore theoretically,
the vast part of the Arctic Ocean is in international waters with no nation able to make
any claim over any other. This area is referred to as the Arctic Commons.
Unfortunately, the situation is complicated by another clause in the Law of the Sea
which states that countries can claim undersea jurisdiction if they can prove that ridges
are directly connected to their section of the continental shelf, in other words, possibly
accepting that the ridge can extend the continental shelf. The nations involved in these
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