Maersk sends first container ship through Arctic route - Sensationalist Headlines

https://photos.marinetraffic.com/ais/showphoto.aspx?mmsi=219115000 This isn't the route the ship will be traveling exactly, it's just a good picture showing the general route. (It's not coming from Rotterdam) https://farm1.staticflickr.com/510/32207301472_577e07517b_o.jpg https://www.reuters.com/article/us-arctic-shipping-maersk/maersk-sends-first-container-ship-through-arctic-route-idUSKCN1L91BR COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A Maersk vessel loaded with Russian fish and South Korean electronics will next week become the first container ship to navigate an Arctic sea route that Russia hopes will become a new shipping highway. The Arctic voyage by the 3,600 20-foot container capacity Venta Maersk is the latest step in the expansion of the so-called Northern Sea Route which is becoming more accessible to ships as climate change reduces the amount of sea ice. The brand new Venta Maersk, one of the world’s largest ice-class vessels, will also collect scientific data, said Maersk, underlining that the voyage is a one-off trial for now. The decision by Maersk, the world’s biggest container shipping group, to test out the route is a positive sign for Russia, which hopes this could become a mini Suez Canal, cutting sea transport times from Asia to Europe. The use of the northern routes are inevitable at this rate, It makes sense economically in that it will drastically save time. It's just sad that we got to this point to begin with.

Wasn't some GOP shithead talking about all the new arable land at the poles due to climate change?

Not that I'm aware of, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Jesus, climate change is happening and rather than trying to do something about it, they just make better trade lanes, that's fucking amazing.

Helping the planet is not as profitable.

Can't make money if you can't live on the planet. Oh wait. Thats then, and not now. Who cares.

lmao climate change isnt even real hey nasa: shut up dorks. how about you discover planet beer in the football galaxy of solar system BOOBS? oh wait! you are a nerd

I mean, I dont see reason not to use this sea route. The circumstances of existence sucks, but why ignore it? It's also less fuel used

Just feels like insult to injury really.

I mean, we've been trying to navigate the northern passages forever. The English wanted it badly. Back then we didn't have the canas so trade to Asia took way long. Mearsk itself is pretty good at trying to be sustainable and cut back emissions through scale. You're not going to NOT go the shortest route that saves time, money, and emissions. On the other side of the coin you're introducing a lot of human activity where it historically has not been. So it's got pros and cons.

I mean I get the point of using this new route, might aswell use it since it's there and better, I'm wondering if there's any wildlife around the new route and how it might affect them.

If a government has companies deforest a stretch of jungle to place a highway, don't complain about the truckers using the faster route to save gas and time. Blame the powers for being spineless enough to allow this to happen, not the people making the most of what is there. Maersk ultimately has no reason not to use the more efficient route if it already exists and in effect it's safer for the environment by virtue of the shorter usage of fuel.

True to some extent, but doesn't it further break up the ice (and potentially exacerbate other feedback cycles) through doing so??

Breaking up floating ice into smaller pieces shouldn't affect sea level as it's already floating, and doesn't melt.

higher surface area to melt as more of the surface will come into contact with the surrounding air/water and light It could in theory melt faster, though I haven't researched the topic.

You would be correct, also ice-free sea absorbs more heat than ice. So increasing the melt, so more heat can be absorbed increasing pace every step of the way. Then comes the trapped greenhouse gasses in the arctic... Only good thing out of this is that traveling distance will get shorter so they spend less fuel therefore releasing less carbon in to the atmosphere. But that is not much help at this point anymore.

I do love this though, we'll cut down on fuel usage by taking the shorter route caused by issues that include the usage of certain types of fuel, the type that no doubt runs these ships back and forth, I'm not against them using this new path, but it's the fact that this path even exist that's the main thing really, it's overall just highly amusing to look at. "Global Warming isn't that bad, I mean we've got a more efficient trade lane, can't have that when you try and save the environment, take that environmentalists!" "Now that a new and better path is open, we can cut back on everything and stop Global Warming from getting worse, this was a planned Global Warming you see, we knew what we were doing all along, take that environmentalists!"

wtf are u going on about dude

It's a combination of events that makes it funny to me, saving on fuel usage by fucking up part of the environment.

awesome