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Arctic Yearbook 2013
Arctic Opportunities: An Alaskan Perspective
The Arctic needs outside partners who share our vision of opportunity and respect for the people
and wildlife that have always lived here. The best partners favor cooperation, transparency and
respect as we engage in the rulemaking and resource development of our region, and they bring
science and investment to the table. I‘m especially proud of the Arctic Council‘s Arctic Marine
Shipping Assessment (AMSA), which was a first-time collaborative effort among eight Arctic
nations, gathered to discuss cooperation on safe shipping in their region. As a result, further
cooperation is taking place among Arctic partners on multiple fronts to implement the
recommendations of AMSA:
• A historic search and rescue agreement was signed at the 7th Annual Arctic Council
Ministerial in Nuuk, Greenland in May 2011. The first implementation meeting was a
Canadian-led search and rescue exercise that took place just several months following. Such
exercises expose our deficiencies in equipment, mapping, ice forecasting, ports and other aids
to navigation. They also foster cooperation among military and civil responders in the Arctic
neighborhood.
• Arctic partners have advocated that the International Maritime Organization adopt a
mandatory polar code to set minimum standards for ships operating in polar waters.
• The Arctic Council has negotiated an international agreement on Arctic marine oil pollution
and response.
• Joint discussions on the development and upgrades of common Arctic security
infrastructure, including deep-water ports, vessel tracking systems, Polar-class icebreakers,
telecommunications and high-resolution mapping and ice imagery, are underway.
Let us hope that these developments lead to the kind of coordinated investment that is the hallmark
of the St. Lawrence Seaway System, a model established between the U.S. and Canada for that
shared waterway on our common border.
In addition to the international cooperation taking place, the State of Alaska is doing its part to
contribute to Arctic infrastructure development and security. The state actively supports the marine
safety, life safety, and pending Arctic marine and aviation infrastructure work of the Arctic Council.
The state supports, and has offered funds, to help the U.S. Coast Guard‘s efforts to bring forward
basing to Alaska‘s North Coast. It participates extensively in research fostered by the U.S. Arctic
Research Commission at the University of Alaska. The Alaska legislature‘s Northern Waters Task
Force made recommendations on mitigation strategies, infrastructure, regulatory and research needs
in the Arctic. With the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the State of Alaska has conducted a feasibility
study on the establishment of a deep-water port in Western Alaska. With the Marine Exchange of
Alaska, the state also supports the Automatic Identification System receiver network which provides
location data and advanced warning to emergency responders of all ships approaching state waters.
I am grateful to the Arctic Yearbook for highlighting the historic events in a changing Arctic, and I
encourage your active engagement in these significant issues.