Open Exchange of Usage Information

Data collected by the central command unit could be made easily available to individual nations to promote national security. Information about vessel type, location, speed, port of origin and destination of Arctic vessels should be public information made available globally via the internet through this central organization. On an interactive map of the region, governments would then be able to track Arctic ships along their voyages. On this map, vessel indicator icons should include a link to the ship’s ice classification as well as photographs of the vessel and other pertinent design information. Such transparency would ease national security concerns and help to ensure that the Arctic does not become a conflict zone.

This central command agency would also be responsible for maintaining data on Arctic shipping, including time trends. Such data could be used to assess growth rates in Arctic shipping as well as to assess factors contributing to disasters including vessel class, port of origin and navigational route used. Time trend data could provide consistent, non-partisan evidence in international courts of law to establish or refute the status of waterways as international straits.