Problems in the Design of a Marine Transportation System for the Arctic

During the past decade, the need to transport oil and other cargoes through the waters of the Arctic has resulted in an increase in knowledge and under- standing of the operational problems involved. The techniques of transportation systems analysis as developed for open-water shipping, together with a careful economic analysis of the special problems of operation in icebound waters, may provide the key to the development of an economically-viable ,marine transportation system for the Arctic. ReSUMe. ProbIPmes dans I'e'tude d'un systhe de transport maritime pour l'Arctique. Au cours de la dernikre dhnnie, le besoin de transporter du p6trole ou d'autres car- gaisons dans les eaux de l'Arctique a conduit B une meilleure connaissance et & une meilleure comprkhension des problèmes techniques que cela implique. Les techniques d'analyse des systèmes de transport mises au point pour la navigation en eau libre et une analyse konomique soignee des problèmes particuliers aux opCrations dans les eaux engl&s pourraient fournir la cl6 du dkveloppement d'un systkme de transport maritime konomiquement viable pour l'Arctique. BACKGROUND Arctic resources and the quest for the Northwest Passage to the Orient have provided the principal impetus towards the use of seagoing vessels in the Arctic. Scarcely five years after Columbus's first voyages, John Cabot attempted to reach Cathay via a northern route. During the 16th and early 17th century, Europeans sought to find the key to the northerly shipping route which they believed would provide them with easy access to profitable oriental trade. Within the last decade, the tremendous mineral deposits existing in the Arctic have attracted the interest of industry and government. This interest has been expressed in the commitment of manpower and money to projects there on a scale previously inconceivable. As a consequence, public interest has been aroused to a degree only exceeded among technical and scientific projects by the space programme.