A study on the roles of stakeholders to ensure safe and viable Arctic shipping

In recent years, signs of thinning ice and longer ice free periods in the Arctic region from global warming have become a key issue of focus among the shipping community. New opportunities are created from the trend of receding ice around North Pole as new water networks are formed. The focus of this report lies on the current development of shipping in both NSR and NWP by the stakeholders. Three stakeholders, namely the regulators, ship service providers and ship owners are identified in this study. This paper will delve into the current activities undertaken by the regulators and their making of regulatory framework for legal standards across international shipping, in particular, Arctic Shipping. This study aims to investigate the industry’s interests in Arctic shipping activities by evaluating the current and future stakeholders’ roles in Arctic shipping. From the identified stakeholders, we will examine the current roles and initiatives of each stakeholder by consolidating information from scholarly articles, journals and experienced professionals in Arctic shipping. Finally, we seek to suggest possible recommendations for future roles of each stakeholder in Arctic shipping. In order to achieve the research objectives, several techniques involving qualitative (interviews) and quantitative approach (surveys) were adopted. Literature review was first conducted to define current studies and gaps related to the topic, followed by interviews and surveys with the industry players to support the findings and expand insights on issues relating to Arctic shipping and its viability. Arctic maritime safety, environmental protection and building Arctic maritime infrastructure are the top three areas that regulators should be focusing on when drafting new rules. Findings from this study have proven that the industry is in favour of the five recommended initiatives (routing and reporting system; vessel traffic services; specially designated Arctic marine areas, ballast water controls and anti-fouling) and future policy makers may take priority in administering standardisation in those suggested initiatives. Arctic shipping governance, though comprehensive enough at this juncture, still requires much more work to be done by collaborating with people who have deep knowledge in the Polar region. The process of getting new regulations into force is expected to be long and requires patience from the shipping community.Bachelor of Science (Maritime Studies