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 S A M P L E    R E S E A R C H    A R T I C L E

PM puts stamp on Arctic as shipping and resources trigger global competition for riches of NWT

BY FRANK O'BRIEN

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up a five-day tour of the North this August - an annual trip meant to underline Canada's claims to sea lanes and resources - the 100,000-tonne Russian tanker Baltica left Europe loaded with gas concentrate for China, the first high-tonnage European tanker to navigate the Northwest Passage from west to east. A month later, a Norwegian bulk freighter owned by Tschudi Shipping Co. carried iron-ore concentrate via the Passage to Singapore, the first foreign flag bulk carrier to sail west through the Arctic waters.

Sailing along the Northwest Passage is seen as increasingly attractive by shipping companies because of the retreating ice and subsequently longer shipping season. Climate change is credited for creating a near-ice-free Northwest Passage for two months of the year, a route that can save weeks - and 10,000 kilometres - compared with shipping via the Panama Canal.

This summer marked the fourth consecutive year -- and fourth time in recorded history -- that the fabled passage was open for navigation

The melting ice is just one of the reasons why the Northwest Territories is now the subject of hot international interest - and potential conflicts.

"We must never forget that there are other nations who aggressively promote their interests in the Arctic and even when they conflict with our own," said Dmitri Soudas, Harper's director of communications, as the PM began his trip.