Even though there is encouraging institutional progress when it comes to ship building standards and the STCW provisions are continuously improved, due to the current occasional-limited use of polar waters for seaborne trade, there is obviously a lack of crews with the necessary experience. Strengthening the necessary technical infrastructure in order to support the expected increase of maritime traffic in the Arctic routes, with emphasis on facilitating timely response to emergencies and search and rescue (SAR) activities should be added to the equation. Issues such as uncharted areas, ice that is drifting and harsh environmental conditions are just a few examples of challenges for shipping. The IMO has already taken a very significant step to ensure a safer and cleaner shipping industry in the region under discussion through the adoption of the Polar Code, which strongly promotes maritime safety in these challenging waters. Additionally, great interest is more openly expressed for the extraction of the estimated natural resources available in all those isolated areas and the seabed, another possible task for maritime transport. On the other hand, it is also creating significant new business opportunities: As Earth’s temperature maintains its rising trend, new maritime routes that were previously covered with ice-pacts are -slowly, but steadily- becoming available for shipping. The notorious “global-warming” phenomenon is clearly impacting negatively upon the Arctic environment.
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