Editing Northwest Passage (section)

==Overview==

===Early expeditions===
[[File:Chart of the World showing New Route through Canada between England, China, Japan, Australasia and the East. By J. Johnston. Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada, 1886 CTASC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Chart of the World showing New Route (the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]) through Canada between England, China, Japan, Australasia and the East (1886)]]
Before the [[Little Ice Age]] (late Middle Ages to the 19th century), [[Norwegian people|Norwegian]] [[Vikings]] sailed as far north and west as [[Ellesmere Island]], [[Skraeling Island]] and [[Ruin Island]] for hunting expeditions and trading with the [[Inuit]] and people of the [[Dorset culture]] who inhabited the region.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schledermann|first1=P.|last2=McCullough|first2=K.M.|editor=James Harold Barrett|title=Contact, Continuity, and Collapse: The Norse Colonization of the North Atlantic|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QFpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PP1|year=2003|publisher=Brepols|isbn=978-2-503-51291-4|pages=183–205|chapter=Inuit-Norse Contact in the Smith Sound Region|doi=10.1484/M.SEM-EB.3.3836}}</ref> Between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, [[colonial powers]] from Europe dispatched explorers to discover a commercial sea route north and west around North America. The Northwest Passage represented a new route to the established trading nations of Asia.

England called the hypothetical northern route the "Northwest Passage". The desire to establish such a route motivated much of the European exploration of both coasts of North America, also known as the New World. When it became apparent that there was no route through the heart of the continent, attention turned to the possibility of a passage through northern waters. There was a lack of scientific knowledge about conditions; for instance, some people believed that [[seawater]] was incapable of freezing. (As late as the mid-18th century, Captain [[James Cook]] had reported that [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] [[iceberg]]s had yielded fresh water, seemingly confirming the hypothesis.) Explorers thought that an [[Open Polar Sea]] close to the North Pole must exist.<ref name="cook" /> The belief that a route lay to the far north persisted for several centuries and led to numerous expeditions into the Arctic. Many ended in disaster, including that by Sir [[John Franklin]] in 1845. While searching for him the [[McClure Arctic Expedition]] discovered the Northwest Passage in 1850.

In 1906, the Norwegian explorer [[Roald Amundsen]] was the first to complete the passage solely by ship, from [[Greenland]] to [[Alaska]] in the [[sloop]] {{ship||Gjøa}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mills|first=William James|title=Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYdBH4dOOM4C&pg=PA13|volume=1, A-L|year=2003|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-422-0|page=13}}</ref> Since that date, several fortified ships have made the journey.

From east to west, the direction of most early exploration attempts, expeditions entered the passage from the Atlantic Ocean via the [[Davis Strait]] and through [[Baffin Bay]], both of which are in Canada. Five to seven routes have been taken through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, via the [[McClure Strait]], [[Dease Strait]], and the [[Prince of Wales Strait]], but not all of them are suitable for larger ships.<ref name="paprl1"/><ref name="Charron">{{cite journal |first=Andrea |last=Charron |title=The Northwest Passage Shipping Channel: Is Canada's Sovereignty Really Floating Away? |journal=[[Canadian International Council|International Journal]] |volume=60|issue=3, Canada in the World: Annual John W. Holmes Issue on Canadian Foreign Policy |pages=831–848 |date=Summer 2005 |doi=10.2307/40204066 |url=http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/Charron,%20Andrea-Paper.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413234114/http://cdfai.org/PDF/Charron%2C%20Andrea-Paper.pdf |archive-date=April 13, 2013|jstor=40204066 }}</ref> From there ships passed through westward through the [[Beaufort Sea]] and the [[Chukchi Sea]], and then southwards through the [[Bering Strait]] (separating Russia and Alaska), into the Pacific Ocean.

===Potential as a shipping lane===
{{multiple image
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 |alt1=9 August 2013
 |caption1=9 August 2013
 |image2=A Nearly Ice-Free Northwest Passage vir 2016222 lrg.jpg
 |alt2=9 August 2016
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In the 21st century, major changes to the ice pack due to [[climate change]] have stirred speculation that the passage may become clear enough of ice to permit safe commercial shipping for at least part of the year. On August 21, 2007, the Northwest Passage became open to ships without the need of an [[icebreaker]]. According to Nalan Koc of the [[Norwegian Polar Institute]], this was the first time the Passage has been clear since they began keeping records in 1972.<ref name="esa"/><ref name="Guardian Newspaper">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/aug/28/climatechange.internationalnews |title=North-West Passage is now plain sailing |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=August 28, 2007 |access-date=April 10, 2010 |first=Gwladys |last=Fouché}}</ref> The Northwest Passage opened again on August 25, 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2008/082508.html |title=Arctic shortcuts open up; decline pace steady |work=Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis |publisher=[[National Snow and Ice Data Center]] |date=August 25, 2008 |access-date=August 27, 2008 |archive-date=September 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905235541/http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2008/082508.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is usually reported that ocean [[thawing]] will open up the Northwest Passage (and the [[Northern Sea Route]]) for various kind of ships, making it possible to sail around the [[Polar ice cap|Arctic ice cap]]<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Chris Mooney (journalist) |last1=Mooney |first1=Chris |title=The Arctic is melting – but shipping through the Northwest Passage is another story |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/09/10/why-the-northwest-passage-probably-wont-be-ready-for-shipping-any-time-soon/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 10, 2015 |access-date=May 30, 2017 |archive-date=May 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509134408/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/09/10/why-the-northwest-passage-probably-wont-be-ready-for-shipping-any-time-soon/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and possibly cutting thousands of miles off shipping routes. Warning that the [[NASA]] satellite images suggested that the Arctic had entered a "death spiral" caused by climate change, Professor [[Mark Serreze]], a sea ice specialist at the U.S. [[National Snow and Ice Data Center]] (NSIDC) said: "The passages are open. It's a historic event. We are going to see this more and more as the years go by."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/5CE1A814261121C6652574B7001C9047?OpenDocument |work=ptinews.com |title=North Pole becomes an 'island' |access-date=October 16, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/for-the-first-time-in-human-history-the-north-pole-can-be-circumnavigated-913924.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/for-the-first-time-in-human-history-the-north-pole-can-be-circumnavigated-913924.html |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=For the first time in human history, the North Pole can be circumnavigated |work=[[The Independent]] |date=August 31, 2008 |access-date=February 19, 2011 |location=London |first=Geoffrey |last=Lean}}</ref><ref name=Cramb>{{cite news |first=Auslan |last=Cramb |title=Arctic becomes an island as ice melts |date=August 31, 2008 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/3350631/Arctic-becomes-an-island-as-ice-melts.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/3350631/Arctic-becomes-an-island-as-ice-melts.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

However, some thick sections of ice will remain hard to melt in the shorter term. Drifting and persistence of large chunks of ice, especially in springtime, can be problematic as they can clog entire [[straits]] or severely damage a ship's [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]]. Cargo routes may thus be slow and uncertain, depending on prevailing conditions and the ability to predict them. Because much containerized traffic operates in a [[Just-in-time manufacturing|just-in-time]] mode (which does not tolerate delays well) and because of the relative isolation of the passage (which impedes shipping companies from optimizing their operations by grouping multiple stopovers on the same itinerary), the Northwest Passage and other Arctic routes are not always seen as promising [[shipping lanes]] by industry insiders, at least for the time being.<ref name="Lasserre">{{cite journal |last=Lasserre |first=Frédéric |date=November 2011 |title=The Geopolitics of Arctic Passages and Continental Shelves |url=https://www.ggr.ulaval.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Lasserre/Publications/geopolitics.pdf |journal=Public Sector Digest |access-date=April 15, 2017 |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416044648/https://www.ggr.ulaval.ca/sites/default/files/documents/Lasserre/Publications/geopolitics.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The uncertainty related to physical damage to ships is also thought to translate into higher insurance premiums,<ref>{{Cite web |first=Grace M. |last=Lavigne |url=https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/trade-lanes/arctic-shipping-presents-insurance-challenges_20140827.html |title=Arctic shipping presents insurance challenges |date=August 27, 2014 |publisher=[[JOC Group]] |access-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232703/https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/trade-lanes/arctic-shipping-presents-insurance-challenges_20140827.html |url-status=live }}</ref> especially because of the technical challenges posed by Arctic navigation (as of 2014, only 12 percent of Canada's Arctic waters have been [[Nautical chart|charted]] to modern standards).<ref>{{Cite report |last1=Lackenbauer |first1=Whitney |first2=Adam |last2=Lajeunesse |date=2014 |title=On Uncertain Ice: The Future of Arctic Shipping and the Northwest Passage |page=4 |publisher=[[Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute]] |url=https://www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/uncertain-ice-lackenbauer-lajeunesse.pdf#page=8 |isbn=978-1-927573-18-1 |access-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412045011/https://www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/uncertain-ice-lackenbauer-lajeunesse.pdf#page=8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Map of the Arctic region showing the Northeast Passage, the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage, and bathymetry.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the Arctic region showing the [[Northeast Passage]], the [[Northern Sea Route]] within it, and the Northwest Passage]]
The Beluga group of [[Bremen]], Germany, sent the first Western commercial vessels through the Northern Sea Route (Northeast Passage) in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8264345.stm |title=Arctic trail blazers make history |access-date=August 17, 2010 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=September 19, 2009 |first=Artyom |last=Liss |archive-date=March 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306093131/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8264345.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Canada's Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] announced that "ships entering the North-West passage should first report to his government".<ref name=Cramb/>

The first commercial [[cargo ship]] to have sailed through the Northwest Passage was {{SS|Manhattan|1962|6}} in August 1969.<ref name=Smith1970>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=William D.|title=Northwest Passage, The Historic Voyage of the S.S. Manhattan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0YFAAAAMAAJ&pg=PP1|year=1970|publisher=American Heritage Press|isbn=9780070584600}}</ref><ref name=Keating1970>{{cite journal |first1=Bern |last1=Keating |first2=Tomas |last2=Sennett |title=Through the Northwest Passage for Oil |journal=[[National Geographic]] |volume=137 |issue=3 |date=March 1970}}</ref> SS ''Manhattan'', of 115,000 [[deadweight tonnage]], was the largest commercial vessel ever to navigate the Northwest Passage.

The largest passenger ship to navigate the Northwest Passage was the [[cruise liner]] {{ship||Crystal Serenity}} of [[gross tonnage]] 69,000. Starting on August 10, 2016, the ship sailed from [[Vancouver]] to New York City with 1,500 passengers and crew, taking 28 days.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-maritime-museum-northwest-passage-1.3709993 |title=Vancouver Maritime Museum joining largest ship to sail Northwest Passage |first=Liam |last=Britten |date=August 5, 2016 |work=[[CBC News]] |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=August 8, 2016 |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809092221/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-maritime-museum-northwest-passage-1.3709993 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2018, two of the freighters leaving [[Baffinland]]'s port in the [[Milne Inlet]], on [[Baffin Island]]'s north shore, were bound for ports in Asia.<ref name=mining2018-11-08>{{cite news |url=http://www.mining.com/baffinland-iron-mines-sets-5-million-tonne-shipping-record/ |title=Baffinland Iron Mines sets 5 million tonne shipping record |work=Mining.com |date=November 7, 2018 |quote=Baffinland also carried out two Northern Sea Route transits to Asia, a first for iron ore bulk carriage. |access-date=November 10, 2018 |archive-date=November 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109011433/http://www.mining.com/baffinland-iron-mines-sets-5-million-tonne-shipping-record/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Those freighters did not sail west through the remainder of the Northwest Passage; they sailed east, rounded the tip of Greenland, and transited Russia's Northern Sea Route.

Experts predict that the passage may be traversable four months of the year by the end of the 21st century.<ref name="mcphail20250116">{{Cite magazine |last=McPhail |first=Sam |date=2025-01-16 |title=What does Greenland have that Trump wants? |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/what-does-greenland-have-that-trump-wants/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |magazine=The Spectator |language=en-GB}}</ref>