Arctic Cruise Shipping and International Law: Vessel-Source Pollution and Competing State Interests

Posted: 31 Jan 2023

See all articles by Stefan Kirchner

Stefan Kirchner

University College Cork - School of Law

Date Written: September 22, 2021

Abstract

In the Arctic, climate change is a reality already today (Fountain, 2021). Anthropogenic climate change leads to warmer temperatures in the Arctic three times as fast as the global average (Deshayes, 2021). Climate change has multiple impacts on the daily lives of those who call the Arctic their home (cf. Kirchner, 2015). Unlike Antarctica, the Arctic is not an empty space, but it is home to millions of people. The reality of life in the Arctic includes remote villages, sparsely populated regions as well as urban centers with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. In this text, it will be shown how the people who live in the Arctic and the unique maritime environment of the Arctic are impacted by Arctic cruise tourism and which role international law can play to protect the Arctic marine environment. The focus of this text is on vessel-source pollution and the international law of the sea. The overall impacts of cruise tourism in the Arctic, however, go significantly beyond these issues. Often, Arctic indigenous cultures are used as the backdrop for touristic experiences and in many Arctic locations, indigenous cultures are abused by outside actors in order to generate profits. For many Arctic communities, tourism is seen as having pros and cons (cf. Ayaydın & Akgönül, Samim, 2020), similar to other outside economic activities in the region. The commercialization of cultures raises specific questions about the effective protection of the rights of indigenous peoples that would go beyond the limitations of this short text. The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) is offering guidance on these issues in multiple languages (AECO, 2018). In this text, the focus will be on the role of the international law of the sea in the context of ensuring that Arctic cruises are as safe as possible for crew, passengers and the environment. In the Arctic, ship operations remain inherently dangerous, despite warming temperatures.

Keywords: Arctic, international law, ships, shipping, cruise ships, climate change, environment, pollution, vessel-source pollution

JEL Classification: K44

Suggested Citation

Kirchner, Stefan, Arctic Cruise Shipping and International Law: Vessel-Source Pollution and Competing State Interests (September 22, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4342465

Stefan Kirchner (Contact Author)

University College Cork - School of Law ( email )

College Road
Cork, County Cork
Ireland

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