Arctic Circle

Russia Wants to Keep Status as Arctic Superpower, Says Expert

NASA Image

Russia’s ambition to remain the Arctic superpower is propelling its all-out effort to guard its economic interests there with broad territorial claims over waterways and a continued military build-up in a region the United States often ignored, an expert on Arctic defense and security said Wednesday.

Troy Bouffard, director of the Arctic Security and Defense Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said President Vladimir Putin “really changed [Russia’s] approach to international...

https://news.usni.org/2021/11/05/russia-wants-to-keep-status-as-arctic-superpower-says-expert

Beijing Wants Arctic to Remain Peaceful, Chinese Diplomat Says

The aurora borealis over Ice Camp Seadragon during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2020. US Navy Photo

China’s top diplomat overseeing Arctic affairs recently stressed that Beijing wants the region to remain peaceful and stable, but recognizes competition – primarily economic for now – is real on several levels.

Speaking at an online Wilson Center forum on Monday, Gao Feng said, “I think we can continue the multilateral … situation in the Arctic” in dealing with questions of scientific research. He mentioned...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/11/beijing-wants-arctic-to-remain-peaceful-chinese-diplomat-says

New Arctic Strategy Calls for Regular Presence as a Way to Compete With Russia, China

U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force-Europe 21.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, conduct a safety of use memorandum (SOUM) on an assault amphibious vehicle in preparation for Exercise Reindeer II, Reindeer I, and Joint Viking in Setermoen, Norway, Nov. 19, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

The Navy and Marine Corps released a new Arctic strategy today, calling to extend their new focus on day-to-day competition with Russia and China into the Arctic as it becomes more navigable and therefore...

[Watch] Parking A Ship in Ice Covered Waters

Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have elaborated on the functioning of the ice breaker RV Polarstern, reports Phys.org.

Star of the MOSAiC show

Loaded with research equipment and international scientists, the RV Polarstern icebreaker is steaming towards the central Arctic, searching for the perfect parking spot next to an ice floe.

This patch of ice is the star of the MOSAiC show: it’s where hundreds of scientists will live and work for 13 months as part of the Multidisciplinary...

https://mfame.guru/watch-parking-a-ship-in-ice-covered-waters/

Panel: NATO Needs to Take Russian Offensive, Defensive Advances in Arctic Seriously

Russia’s Baltic Fleet. Russian Ministry of Defense photo.

Russia’s massive 70-warship Ocean Shield exercise in the Baltic Sea last year signaled the Kremlin’s intention to be the dominating Arctic power militarily and economically, two international security experts said Tuesday.

“The complexity of exercises has expanded significantly over the last twelve years” as Moscow has pushed conventional and nuclear military modernization programs forward to assert its dominance regionally, Katarzyna...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/01/panel-nato-needs-to-take-russian-offensive-defensive-advances-in-arctic-seriously

Foggo: Changing Conditions Require New Arctic Strategy, International Code of Conduct

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78), front, the Royal Navy Type-23 Duke-class frigate HMS Kent (F78), the fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) conduct joint operations to ensure maritime security in the Arctic Ocean, May 5, 2020. Royal Navy photo.

The head of U.S. naval forces in Europe would like to see more coordination and more dialogue in the Arctic, where military and commercial traffic are increasing, and so is the risk...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/26/foggo-changing-conditions-require-new-arctic-strategy-international-code-of-conduct

20,000 Tonnes of Oil Spill Puts in Arctic Circle in a State of Emergency

  • Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil leaked into a river within the Arctic Circle.
  • The spill happened when a fuel tank at a power plant near the Siberian city of Norilsk collapsed last Friday.
  • The power plant’s director Vyacheslav Starostin has been taken into custody until 31 July, but not yet charged.
  • The plant is owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, which is the world’s leading nickel and palladium producer.
  • The Russian...

https://mfame.guru/20000-tonnes-of-oil-spill-puts-in-arctic-circle-in-a-state-of-emergency/

U.S., U.K. Surface Warships Patrol Barents Sea For First Time Since the 1980s

The Duke-class frigate HMS Kent (F78) takes part in a replenishment-at-sea with Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE-6) whilst on exercise with the U.S. Navy in the Arctic Circle. The exercises have been taking place in the Arctic Circle where, with added wind chill, the temperatures plummeted to a jarring minus 10 degrees centigrade. UK Royal Navy photo.

The U.S. Navy surface force is operating in the Barents Sea for the first time since the Cold War, further expanding its...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/04/u-s-u-k-surface-warships-patrol-barents-sea-for-first-time-since-the-1980s

Admiral: U.S. Needs More Ships in Europe to Counter Growing Russian Threats

Lt. j.g. Melissa Jock observes a replenishment-at-sea between the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE) and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on May 10, 2018. US Navy Photo

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The head of Naval Forces Europe is making a pitch for more ships to provide presence, training and crisis response capability in his area of the world, even as tensions are rising globally.

Adm. James Foggo told USNI News that he’s seeing more Russian ships, submarines and aircraft in...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/01/admiral-u-s-needs-more-ships-in-europe-to-counter-growing-russian-threats

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