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6Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Founder: John J. O?Malley 1905 - 1980 Charles P. O?Malley 1928 - 2000 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News (ISSN # 0025-3448) is published monthly by Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. Mailed at Periodicals Postage Rates at New York, NY 10199 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster send notification (Form 3579) regarding undeliverable maga- zines to Maritime Reporter/Engineering News, 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. Publishers are not responsible for the safekeeping or return of editorial material. ©2011 Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 477-6700; fax: (212) 254-6271ISSN-0025-3448USPS-016-750No. 5Vol. 74 MemberBusiness Publications Audit of Circulation, Inc.www.marinelink.com MARITIMEREPORTER ANDENGINEERINGNEWS All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.EDITOR?S NOTEThe Arctic, The Environment, The Energy & You The Arctic is receiving its fair share of ink of late as the world collectively evaluates the impact that a warming planet will have in ?opening? the region to commercial shipping and off- shore energy. Whether it be a shorter shipping route between Europe and Asia and the requisite savings of fuel and emissions; or the tapping its fertile submerged grounds for oil and gas to quench the world?s seeming insatiable thirst for fossil fuels; the Arctic holds a seemingly infinite amount of promise, but equal amounts of peril. As the cover photo of this month?s edition as well as the image on page 34 can surely attest, de- spite a global warming trend the Arctic is still indeed a harsh climate fraught with challenges. ?I think it important to remind everyone that the place is ice-covered ? fully or partially ? eight to 10 months out of the year through the century and beyond. The ice cover is thinner, but it may be more dynamic, as it might be moving faster, meaning that it might not be an easier place to navi- gate,? said Lawson W. Brigham, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Geography and Arctic Policy, Uni- versity of Alaska ? Fairbanks. He, and many other of the leading minds from government, academia and commerce on the topic of the Arctic, convened last month in New London, Connecticut, on the manicured grounds of the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), where the USCGA and the Law of the Sea Institute from the University of California?s Berkeley School of Law convened a high-level conference dubbed ?Leadership for the Arctic.? But the Arctic is far more than a cold, harsh environ with a lot of oil & gas; it is a flashpoint for both matters environment and maritime, and the two go hand in hand. Make no mistake: while shorter shipping routes and the requisite savings of fuel and emissions is a nice opening act, the de- velopment of some of the largest oil and gas fields on the planet are today and will remain the chief driver for activity in the region, as developing worlds demand more fuel and oil majors run out of places to look.As it stands now, though, there are far more questions surrounding the Arctic, and the ownership ? of shipping routes, or resources, of responsibility for when something inevitably goes wrong ? is a literal political powder keg that has no easy answers. But it is good to know at least the conversation has started and will continue.?What we have is an ocean being used more than any time in history without any regulation,? said Dr. Brigham. ?There is a lot of work to be done in the future.? While there are many uncertainties, there is something that everyone in the maritime and offshore energy communities can count on: a collective vigilance to protect this fragile, dynamic ecosystem that will be tight if not uniform, and that any accident, large or small, is a potential gamechanger. Plan and invest wisely. MR May 12 # 1 (1-8):MR Template 5/8/2012 12:28 PM Page 6