Safe Travels? An Examination of the Search and Rescue Policies and Capabilities in the Northwest Passage Region

Abstract

As Climate Change transforms the Arctic and opens new opportunities for maritime operations, increased ship operations in the Northwest Passage region of the Arctic are a growing concern for emergency managers. Historically, the Northwest passage region was remote and generally inaccessible for much of the year, which meant that there was little need for emergency services on a regular basis. This is now changing with more bulk transports, tankers, cruise ships, and adventurous individuals traversing the region in numbers not seen before in addition to the traditional maritime activities.

The thesis will demonstrate what shortcomings are in the SAR system that is in place in terms of policy and capability followed by what short-term measures can be made to solve these deficiencies. The whole system will be shown with the hope that a potential problem will be averted before the system is faced with a situation that could overwhelm it.

Alternate abstract:

Da klimaændringer forvandler arktikken og åbner nye muligheder for maritime operationer, er øget skibsoperation i Nordvest-Passage-regionen i Arktis et voksende problem for nødforvaltere. Historisk set var det nordvestlige passageområde fjernt og generelt utilgængeligt i meget af året, hvilket medførte, at der ikke var regelmæssigt behov for nødtjenester. Dette ændrer sig nu med flere bulktransporter, tankskibe, krydstogtskibe og eventyrlystne individer, der krydser regionen i tal, der ikke er set før i tillæg til de traditionelle maritime aktiviteter.

Afhandlingen vil vise, hvilke mangler der er i SAR-systemet, der er på plads med hensyn til politik og kapacitet efterfulgt af hvilke kortsigtede foranstaltninger der kan træffes for at løse disse mangler. Hele systemet vil blive vist med håb om, at et potentielt problem vil blive afværget, før systemet står over for en situation, der kan overvinde det.