The amount of ice in the Arctic is decreasing rapidly. As a result of global warming, 13% of the ice, in the North, disappears every decade. If no action is taken, the Arctic will be ice-free in 2040 according to previsions. This means that the new commercial route would be fully functional in less than 15 years.
As a result, many countries are planning to exploit this advantage in future years. A few weeks ago, The U.S announced that they are planning to annex different territories to expand their command over global trade. For example, they want to integrate the Panama Canal, Greenland and even Canada. Annexing these regions would give the US access to the North. Furthermore, Russia is known to want this sea route, as they installed many bases in the north. It is expected to see an increase of military presence near these emerging highways.
“Greenland is a strategic place to have, it’s a large landmass. I think it would be good for the United States.” — Donald Trump, 2019.
Theoretically, this shipping route is the fastest way to travel from both sides of the Atlantic ocean.In fact, the Northwest passage is 7000 kilometers shorter than the current way, the Panama Canal. It would approximately save 2 weeks of travelling. Moreover, these Arctic passages, Northwest and North sea passage, could propose less fuel consumption. This territory is highly contended, because it would make companies save a lot of money on import and export interactions.
“Research is still ongoing to fully quantify the environmental impact of using the Northwest Passage as a commercial route. However, some projections suggest a reduction of up to 10-15% in global shipping emissions if this route were to be widely adopted, depending on factors like route adoption rates, ship efficiency, and Arctic conditions.” – ChatGPT
As of right now, Canada owns most of the Northwest passage through their islands on the edge of their land. On the other hand, other countries claim that the passage is located in international waters.
Considering that the temperature in southern waters is rising, various types of fishes could potentially migrate to the North in order to survive. Which would highly benefit the countries in that specific zone.
Overall every aspect of the Northwest passage opening up leans towards creating an important opportunity for countries in control of it. Can you imagine what the world’s strongest nations are going to do for the purpose of ruling this area?
