Industry Insight: Anniversary of a Milestone Northwest Passage Voyage Highlights Call for Arctic HFO Ban

by Kevin Harun, Arctic Program Director, Pacific Environment
Wednesday September 24, 2014

This month marks an interesting anniversary for the Arctic Ocean, especially in light of ongoing international rulemaking to regulate accelerating arctic shipping.

Forty-five years ago, just two months after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, another historic exploration milestone took place in Alaska.  The icebreaking tanker SS Manhattan arrived at Barter Island, AK on September, 18, 1969.  The ship had been commissioned by Humble Oil to test the feasibility of using tankers to transport crude from the recently discovered Prudhoe Bay oil field.  Having launched from Sun Shipyards in Chester, PA, the Manhattan was the largest U.S. merchant ship of its day and the first commercial vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. 

The next day, the SS Manhattan arrived offshore Prudhoe Bay just one week after the state's first major oil lease sale.  At Prudhoe, Humble Oil staged the "golden barrel" ceremony in which one barrel was filled with crude and loaded on the ship which then returned via the Northwest Passage to New York City.   After a stop at Barrow, Alaska, the ship returned via the Northwest Passage to New York City, arriving on November 12, 1969.

Hazards

The historic journey was not without mishap.  As detailed below, many of the same hazards identified by the historic passage of the SS Manhattan still apply today.  Protecting the Arctic marine environment and Arctic people from these hazards is currently under consideration by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization which is writing rules for arctic shipping known as the Polar Code.  The United States' delegation includes leadership from NOAA and the Coast Guard.   

First, a bit more history.  Not only the largest ship of its kind, the SS Manhattan was an engineering marvel. Retrofitting the tanker for ice conditions required the monumental feat of cutting the ship into four pieces which were then sent to ship yards in four states and then later reassembled.  As the voyage transited Canadian waters, it also jump-started international attention to sovereignty and control of arctic waters.  Canada required that the ship be escorted by a Canadian icebreaker and also moved to pass the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, a first attempt at exerting protections and control in international arctic waters.

The ship was greeted In Alaska by the icebreaking U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Northwind  under the command of Captain Donald J. McCann.   The Northwind achieved a significant historic first during its mission to accompany the SS Manhattan by becoming was the first ship in history to complete the Northwest Passage in both directions in a single season.

The Northwind's voyage was beset by a damaged crankshaft and became stuck in the ice, requiring help from the Canadian icebreaker John A. MacDonald.  The MacDonald also suffered ice damage to its propeller during the voyage.

Many of the same hazards identified by the historic passage of the SS Manhattan still apply today:  lack of infrastructure, lack of emergency response, poor communications, inadequate charts, and the inability to respond to arctic oil spills. 

Icebreaking Tankers

Of course, icebreaking tankers are not yet in use to transport Prudhoe crude, but arctic shipping is quickly accelerating.  U.S. waters are affected by international shipping along our arctic coastline and by shipping through the Bering Strait which connects Asia to the Russian arctic and northern Europe.

There are concerns that the most pressing issue, a spill of Heavy Fuel Oil,  is not being addressed in the Polar Code.  The Arctic Council, which the US will chair next year, identified the release of oil as the "most significant threat" to the arctic marine environment in their 2009 assessment of arctic shipping. 

We recommend that Heavy Fuel Oil be banned in arctic waters and that lighter, distillate fuels be required.  In the event of a spill, lighter fuels would dissipate more quickly and cause less harm to the environment and the people who depend on marine resources for food.  There is precedent for banning Heavy Fuel Oil in sensitive waters, including the waters of the Antarctic.  The next IMO Polar Code meeting is in London on October 13th.

One more item while we're thinking about the history and hazards of arctic shipping fact.  President Obama's Oval Office desk is known as the Resolute Desk.  The desk was a gift from Queen Victoria and is made from the wood of the Resolute, a British ship that got stuck in the arctic ice and had to be rescued by an American crew.

About Kevin Harun

Kevin Harun

Since joining Pacific Environment in early 2013, Kevin Harun has quickly established his leadership in the coalition seeking to protect Arctic ecosystems from the harmful impacts of increased, unregulated shipping in the face of disappearing sea ice. Kevin has been instrumental in bringing strategic focus to member efforts, and he drives the implementation of advocacy campaigns targeting key national and international decision makers. He serves as the leader of Pacific Environment's delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is currently writing the Polar Code.

Previously, Kevin was elected to two terms on the Fairbanks North Star Borough where he represented Fairbanks, Alaska, and was a champion of sustainable development. He served for seven years as the Executive Director of the Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE) and for three years as Program Officer of Forestry, Oceans and Arctic programs at the Alaska Conservation Foundation. He has been a consultant to numerous state legislative campaigns and ballot initiatives and he also served as political director for U.S. Senator Mark Begich's winning 2008 campaign. He also served locally as Director of the Sustainability for the Municipality of Anchorage where he successfully implemented curbside recycling, a green building ordinance and an energy-efficient street lighting program that saved the city $2 million a year.

Kevin co-founded an environmental organization in the Russian Far East modeled on his successful work at ACE. He attended the University of Alaska at Anchorage and Fairbanks and has a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University.

About Pacific Environment

Pacific Environment (PE) protects the living environment of the Pacific Rim and has partnered with local and indigenous communities in Russia, China, California, and the Alaskan Arctic for more than two decades. PE believes that long term environmental and social progress originates from strengthening local communities and grassroots movements, complemented with sophisticated policy advocacy at international finance and governance institutions.

Pacific Environment trains, campaigns, builds networks, and provides direct financial support to activist leaders and non-governmental organizations to help them protect their communities from environmental and health threats and hold international governments, corporations, and financing institutions accountable for their policies and actions.

Together with its partners, PE has shielded tens of thousands of acres of old growth forest; won protections for endangered species; forced oil, gas, mining, and timber companies to heed local concerns; closed polluting factories along rivers; and changed the way some of the world's most powerful financial institutions work.

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