Coast Guard studies shipping lanes for Bering Sea routes

Nov 17, 3:11 AM EST

Coast Guard studies shipping lanes for Bering Sea routes

By DAN JOLING
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- More Arctic sea ice melting each summer from global warming is making it easier for ships to plot routes through the environmentally sensitive Bering Strait, and is prompting concerns among U.S. Coast Guard officials about the potential dangers of a vessel crashing and leaking oil.

The Coast Guard is taking steps to plot a shipping route that will help the ships safely navigate the 53-mile wide waterway separating Russia and Alaska. Among the vessels slated to pass through the strait is a cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 passengers on a 32-day voyage next year through the Northwest Passage.

The federal agency has laid out a 4-mile wide route through the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean and is reviewing public comment on whether it should become the first commercial shipping lane along Alaska's west coast.

"We want to really try to keep these large commercial vessels that we're starting to see on an ever-increasing basis far enough from land, and we believe that we can do that with a route," said Lt. Kody Stitz, a project officer in the agency's waterways management branch.

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