Governance of Arctic expedition cruise ships in a time of rapid environmental and economic change

Changes in seasonal climate patterns and decreasing sea ice cover have facilitated an increase in navigable waters throughout Arctic Canada and resulted in the urgent need for new approaches to ocean, coastal, and vessel management. Increased access has resulted in a significant expansion of Arctic shipping activity over the past decade with one of the fastest growing sectors being expedition cruising. This paper presents an assessment of the existing marine regulations and governance structures that manage the cruise sector in Arctic Canada and provides a critical evaluation of its effectiveness considering recent and rapid growth. Using a variety of sources, including interviews with community residents and key informant stakeholders, analysis of changing ship volumes over the past decade, and an inventory of institutional governance for the sector, the major governance challenges for the industry were identified. Also identified are potential strategies for mitigating these challenges. Results of the analysis raise concerns that there is no central authority to govern the growth of the industry, no specific sector or operator management plan, and no site guidelines for highly visited shore locations (other than in protected areas). Instead, governance occurs within the complex multi-jurisdictional regulatory frameworks that exist for all shipping in the region. The paper concludes that under current conditions there are significant barriers to supporting development of this sector while avoiding human, environmental and security problems in the near-to medium-term future