Arctic waterways need protection
The number of cruise vessels are increasing just like the environmental problems that follow the traffic
Arctic cruise ship traffic has jumped from 50 ships in 2004 to 250 ships in 2007, with the most increases in Nunavut and Greenland, said Walter Nadolny, an associate professor in marine transportation at the State University of New York's Maritime College.
With even more cruise ships expected this summer, Nadolny said, he's worried about what those vessels may be bringing with them, including invasive foreign marine species and ship emissions that could harm fragile Arctic areas.
The problems include "oil emissions from bilge water, sewage emissions from sewage treatment plants, [and] ballast emissions as far as conveying invasive species up here from other areas in the world, which to me is a huge threat that nobody sees right now," Nadolny told CBC News.
Nadolny said vessels can take on ballast water in countries or regions far from the Arctic, which means foreign species could be brought up north that would push local species out.
The Arctic should be declared a special area, he said, with strict safety measures and restrictions on where ships can go, how fast they can go, and what they can discharge into Arctic waters.
The Arctic Council working group PAME plans to publish an Arctic Marine and Shipping Assessment next spring.