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could easily have turned out differently. International Interest in the Arctic While all planned activity during Arctic Shield 2012 will be well within UnitedStates waters, the interests of neighbor- ing Canada are not being ignored. A rep- resentative of the Government of Canada has been invited to ride one of the USCG cutters has an observer. Partly in anticipation of possible oil and gas deposits in deep waters of the Arctic Ocean, various nations are conducting scientific missions in those waters. The principal players are the so-called Arctic nations: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ice-land, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States. Latelythough, other nations have demonstrated an interest in the Arctic. China has dis- patched its polar icebreaker XUE LONG (Snow Dragon) to the Arctic four times (1999, 2003, 2008, and 2010). During its2010 Arctic voyage, the XUE LONG reached its northern-most point, 88.22°Nat 177.20°W. From there, its helicopter flew scientists to the North Pole for some research work. The icebreaker is due to depart in July 2012 for a four-month voy- age to the Arctic for a planned trip through the Bering Strait and across theArctic Ocean to the Atlantic. During this voyage, the icebreaker will probably call at China?s Yellow River Station in Ny- Ålesund, Svalbard. Balancing Environmental Advocacy and Marine SafetyThe Coast Guard assets would be in po- sition to monitor the offshore oil and gas exploratory drilling for compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations. There is also the possibility, hopefully re- mote, that environmental advocates may seek to interfere with those federally-per- mitted activities. While it is not the mis- sion of the Coast Guard to impedelegitimate civil protests, the Coast Guard will take appropriate action in the event of unlawful civil protests or in the event that any protests create unsafe conditions. In February 2012, at Port Taranaki, New Zealand, a small group of environmental advocates, including Lucy Lawless, star of the recent television series ?Xena: Warrior Princess,? boarded the drillship that Shell Oil intends to utilize in its op-erations in the Chukchi Sea this summer. Subsequently, Shell Oil obtained injunc- tions to prevent the boarding of its ves- sels during this summer?s federally-permitted activities. At least one environmental advocacy group has publicly stated that it intends to use oneof its vessels to shadow the Shell Oil ships en route to and operating in Arctic waters. The Coast Guard proposes to es- tablish safety zones around the drillingoperations so as to maintain a safe sepa-ration between those operations and any demonstrators or other vessels or persons in the vicinity. SummaryArctic Shield 2012 represents not theculmination of 145 years of Coast Guardoperations in Alaska, but the commence- ment of a new chapter of Coast Guard op- erations in the Arctic. As long term weather patterns change and the Arctic becomes the scene of broader human ac-tivities and challenges, the Coast Guard is demonstrating that it is ready to under- take its new and expanded missions in Arctic waters. The challenges are many and not to be taken lightly, but the im- portance, and inevitability, of greater Coast Guard presence in the Arctic can- not be denied.13Dennis L. Bryant, Maritime Regulatory Consulting,Gainesville, FL, Tel: 352-692-5493 Email: dennis.l.bryant @gmail.com MR#7 (10-17):MR Template 7/6/2012 10:01 AM Page 13