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Shipping

Our rapidly changing climate has led to a decrease in Arctic sea ice and a corresponding increase in shipping. Given that 90 per cent of all goods traded around the world travel by boat, there are clear risks to Arctic waters from a continued increase in shipping. Pressure to access Arctic resources is compounding the problem.

Why are we concerned?

Between 2013 and 2019, the number of ships operating in Arctic waters grew by 25 per cent, and the distance they sailed increased by 75 per cent.

More vessels plying Arctic waters will increase the risks to Arctic ecosystems and wildlife from spills of heavy fuel oil (HFO), air and underwater noise pollution, and break-up of the remaining ice. These developments will lead to food shortages and jeopardize livelihoods, cultures and human health in the Arctic, especially in Indigenous communities.

Shipping provides an essential service to sustain Arctic communities, but should abide by environmental regulations that protect key species and habitats.

How does increased shipping threaten the Arctic?

© Kevin Schafer / WWF

Shipping increases CO2 emissions

Emissions from international shipping contribute significantly to global warming. Every year, ships emit more than a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, or about 3 per cent of global emissions. To put this in perspective, that’s more than most countries. Shipping would be the world’s sixth-largest emitter of CO2—right after Japan and before Germany—if it were a country.

© WWF

More shipping routes amplify risks for Arctic ecosystems and species

The number of ships entering Arctic waters grew by 25 per cent between 2013 and 2019, while sailing distances jumped by 75 per cent. Not only will existing routes see higher volumes of ship traffic, but once the Arctic Ocean has been transformed by the climate crisis, it could host as many as four new trans-Arctic shipping routes: the Northeast Passage (including the Northern Sea Route), the Northwest Passage and the Transpolar Sea Route. All four offer the appeal of much shorter distances than the current routes through the Panama and Suez canals, which connect the Atlantic to the Pacific and Indian oceans, respectively.

At the same time, open waters are hotspots for marine mammals.

© James Brooks / Flickr

Black carbon pollutes the air

When burned, HFO produces high levels of black carbon. When these particles are emitted into the environment through exhaust fumes, they fall on Arctic snow, glaciers and sea ice. Not only is black carbon a dangerous pollutant linked to heart and lung disease, but the black particles reduce the reflectivity of the snow and ice. As more heat is absorbed instead of being reflected, snow and ice melt accelerate. About 20 per cent of global shipping’s climate warming impacts can be attributed to black carbon, with the remainder being from CO2.

Black carbon emissions from shipping increased by 85 per cent between 2015 and 2019.

© NOAAS’s National ocean service / Flickr

Oil spills cannot easily be cleaned up

About 75 per cent of the marine fuel currently carried in the Arctic is heavy fuel oil (HFO), a dirty, viscous and polluting fossil fuel. When HFO is spilled in cold polar waters, it breaks down even more slowly than other fossil fuels. There is currently no viable method to clean up oil from ice. Nor is there any infrastructure in place in the Arctic from which to stage a clean-up.

Any HFO spill will have long-term, devastating effects on Arctic Indigenous communities, livelihoods and the marine ecosystems and species they depend upon.

© Peter Ewins / WWF-Canada

Shipping impacts local and Indigenous communities

Black carbon emissions have health impacts for local communities, such as increased rates of heart and lung disease. In addition, HFO spills, discharges from wastewater, ship strikes and underwater noise pollution all have devastating consequences for the sensitive Arctic ecosystem and wildlife. These effects further compromise health, quality of life and food security for local people, including Indigenous communities.

© Coast guard news / Flickr

Ship strikes cause injuries and deaths

Many of the world’s busiest shipping and ferry lanes overlap directly with areas where whales feed, give birth, nurse their young, or travel between feeding and breeding grounds. When ships travel quickly through these areas, there is a high risk of collision, injury and death because the whales are often unable to get out of the ship’s path in time. Ship strikes are known to be one of the leading causes of death for endangered and vulnerable whale populations, including critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, of which fewer than 500 remain.

 

© Nick Caloyianis/National Geographic Creative / WWF-Canada

Underwater noise provokes stress and danger for wildlife

Increasing ship traffic means a noisier Arctic Ocean. Ships increase noise levels in the area significantly, creating significant problems for Arctic marine mammals who rely on sound to communicate, navigate and hunt.

Researchers studying the effects of noise on marine mammals have detected increased levels of stress hormones in species by underwater noise. The Arctic’s soundscape is unique because its cold surface water temperatures and relatively shallow basin help sound travel extremely long distances at the surface, where marine mammals come up to breathe. Because of this, it takes only a few ships to greatly increase noise levels throughout the Arctic Circle.

Solutions

© Jim Leape / WWF

Implement routing measures

trans-Arctic shipping routes forecast to be navigable by mid- to late century, new responsible routing measures—such as shipping lanes, traffic separation schemes, precautionary areas and areas to avoid during all or parts of the year—are urgently needed to safeguard important Arctic habitats.

© Elisabeth Kruger / WWF-US

Regulate ship speeds

Tighter regulations on ship speeds are needed. This would be an important step in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and would also reduce the number and severity of ship-to-ship collisions and strikes with marine mammals.

© Alexxx Malev / Flickr

Ban heavy fuel oil sooner

In November 2020, the International Maritime Organization—the United Nations’ specialized agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships—finally agreed to a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil because cleaner fuels are readily available.

But the ban will not come into force until mid-2024, and even then, it will address only a small proportion of the heavy fuel oil currently in use in the Arctic. As a result, almost 75 per cent of HFO-fuelled ships currently operating in the area will be able to continue using HFO until mid-2029. Only a more robust regulation with no exemptions or waivers would result in a 100 per cent HFO ban in the Arctic.

Arctic nations must put their own regulations in place now and ban HFO use and carriage in their own Arctic waters ahead of the IMO’s regulations.

 

© Elisabeth Kruger / WWF-US

Use zero-emission fuels

Actions to regulate CO2 and black carbon emissions in the shipping sector in the Arctic over the next decade will be critical to keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5˚C. If the industry switched to distillate fuels today, black carbon would be reduced by more than 40 per cent, and total greenhouse gas emissions would drop, slowing the loss of Arctic snow and ice.

© naturepl.com / Martha Holmes / WWF

Regulate to decrease underwater noise pollution

Policy-makers must better manage shipping in the region to protect the Arctic’s majestic animals and unique ocean ecosystems. Neither governments nor the shipping industry have adopted the voluntary guidelines developed in 2014 by the International Maritime Organisation, rendering the guidelines largely ineffective. Revising these guidelines and making them mandatory may remove barriers to implementation. Precautions must be taken now, not after the impacts have already taken a toll. Underwater noise is pollution—but it’s pollution with a solution: we just have to stop putting it in the ocean.

What is the WWF Arctic Programme doing?

By 2030, shipping in the Arctic has moved to non-fossil fuel-based propulsion. Strict environmental regulations are in place, and key species and habitats are protected from the impacts of shipping, including pollution, underwater noise, and the risks of oil and other contaminant spills. A complete ban on HFO is implemented.

© Chris Parker, Flickr

Collaborating globally for sustainable shipping

The WWF Arctic Programme is working with Arctic countries and international organizations, such as the International Marine Organization and the Clean Arctic Alliance, to promote sustainable shipping practices in the Arctic. This includes banning on HFO fuels, without exceptions; gradual phasing out fossil fuels (especially oil-based fuels), strengthening and enforcing navigation rules, preventing pollution, spills and accidents, and avoiding impacts on biodiversity.

© WWF Global Arctic Programme

Implementing ArcNet—a vision, network and tool for marine conservation

If we let it, nature can help us adapt and buffer us against the impacts of a warmer world. It can protect communities from extreme weather events, absorb and store carbon, and be a source of food and livelihoods. WWF has produced ArcNet, an ocean-spanning network of marine conservation areas in the Arctic that supports resilience for Arctic biodiversity and gives nature some elbow room to adapt to the inevitable changes.

ArcNet is a map that shows the vision for a network of priority areas that governments and communities need to conserve throughout the Arctic Ocean. ArcNet is also a concrete tool for marine planning and management. ArcNet considers a region’s marine ecosystems and how they function, then suggests the best way forward to support a healthy and biodiverse Arctic.

© naturepl.com / Doc White / WWF

Working to reduce underwater noise pollution

The WWF Arctic Programme is working towards robust, precautionary regulation, backed by science, to safeguard marine mammals and other noise-sensitive species from the increasing threats of underwater noise pollution. We are doing this by identifying sound sanctuaries that protect important habitats, such as calving and feeding areas and migration routes. The International Maritime Organization must recognize underwater noise pollution as a pollutant and must be mandated to reduce its impacts.

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