Number of ships transiting Arctic waters falls in 2014

Published 12:54 pm Monday, January 5, 2015

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An increase in shipping that some predict for Arctic waters did not show up in 2014.

Alaska Public Radio Network reported 31 ships sailed the Northern Sea Route between Europe and Asia and 22 used part of the route.

That was down from 70 vessels using the route in 2013.

Malte Humpert of the Arctic Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, says 2014 shows that Arctic shipping may be further off than thought.

He says a higher volume of sea ice may also have been a factor.

Joël Plouffe, managing editor of the journal Arctic Yearbook, says the opening of the Arctic has been oversold as a major and immediate boom but remains a region where access is limited and development is expensive.