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32 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • SEPTEMBER 2014 peared, and more than 50% of the area of the Arctic Ocean is now open wa- ter,” said Paul Arthur Berkman, Ph.D., Fulbright Distinguished Scholar and Research Professor, Bren School of En- vironmental Science and Management, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara. He was inter- viewed fresh from a early 2014 meeting he helped to coordinate at the London HQ of the International Maritime Or- ganization (IMO) entitled Workshop on Safe Ship Operations in the Arctic Ocean. While the scientifi c base of knowledge and commercial activity in the Arctic increases exponentially, there remain many unknowns and misconceptions. “There are two misconceptions,” said professor Oran Young, Bren School of Environmental Science and Manage- ment, Marine Science Institute, Univer- sity of California, Santa Barbara (US), who is a renowned Arctic expert and a leader in the fi elds of international gov- ernance and environmental institutions. “One is that the ice is melting, and be- fore you know it the Arctic is going to be ice free and you will be able to run ships anywhere you want without any problems or diffi culties. That is not the case, and it will continue to be diffi cult to operate under Arctic conditions for the foreseeable future. Another miscon- ception is the belief that once the Arctic opens up, there will be a mad scramble THE ARCTIC “My best advice: Listen to the advice of Atomfl ot and the Northern Sea Route Administration; and have a Russian speaking ice pilot onboard.” Felix H. Tschudi Chairman and fourth generation owner of the Tschudi Group (Photo Cour tesy T schudi Shipping Company AS) MR #9 (26-33).indd 32 9/4/2014 3:59:59 PM
