I read Rana Foroohar’s article “The new maritime statecraft”(Opinion, August 12) with interest. We follow the subject of a potential invigoration of Arctic shipping routes with curiosity — and dare I say, with a somewhat peculiar inquisitive passion. But actual news on the development of shipping in the northernmost part of our globe is scarce, despite the abundance of features speculating on what a potential Arctic shipping ecosystem and polar voyages might look like.
As correctly pointed out, and as a growing body of news suggests, the Arctic is viewed as an emerging major geopolitical battleground due to its untapped resources and purportedly newly accessible sea routes.
While the icebreaker collaboration between the US, Finland and Canada is framed as a peaceful partnership, could it not be contributing to a broader militarisation of the Arctic? If Russia and China are flexing their muscles in the region, might the US and its allies feel entitled to build icebreakers not merely to facilitate trade, but also in preparation for a new cold war, both literally and figuratively? How helpful would that be towards fostering seaborne cross-continental, cross-ocean trade?
If icebreakers are indeed built — whether they will be sufficient to revitalise US shipbuilding is another subject of discussion. For example, how will they be operated, and how will their services be rendered? Will they be employed to open up lanes or escort vessels from friendly nations? Will there be separate icebreaker fleets for different geopolitical blocs? And how might affiliation be determined: by ownership or management of the vessel, the vessel’s flag, its crew, or the origin and destination of its cargo? These are difficult questions to answer.
Our world has a chance for genuine global collaboration on the Arctic, one of Earth’s last physical frontiers.
Environmental concerns must not be relegated to a convenient afterthought, if trade is to evolve through the Arctic — especially the type of trade carried by commercial vessels, which icebreakers are intended to support in the coming years, and which has lifted billions out of poverty and keeps the lights on and food on the shelves.
The world must not miss this opportunity to collaborate on how to utilise the Arctic seas. Unfortunately, such thoughts have been in decline recently, but they should not be.
Dionysios Tsilioris
Member, Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers
Athens, Greece
