Cruising the Northwest or Northeast Passage

[Dauntlessny]

Let's keep this thread to information on actual boats doing the Northwest Passage or the Northern Sea Route.

No climate change stuff.
No environmental stuff.

Just boats doing it, planning on doing it or why they would never do it again.

I'm not ready to do it. In fact, until recently, I was not interested. I think the Arctic is boring, plus all the other issues. But an almost ice free passage would be very enticing,especially because in a few years I will be in Northeast Asia and wanting to return to Northern Europe.

The Northern Sea Route would probably be ideal, if not for political issues and the rules Russia has imposed. On the other hand, if I had a crew-mate who was Putin's buddy, maybe it's doable.

I'd also like to know what temporary protections people have done for their hulls against sheet ice (not pack ice).

thanks all
Richard on Dauntless

[TeddyDiver]

The NSR would be excellent choice if there weren't that Russian bureaucracy. It take's years to get the permit if at all. Right thou having a close contact to Putin helps.

Teddy

[jackdale]

Northabout did both the NSR and NWP last season. Their web site is a good source of information about preparation, etc..

Home - The Polar Ocean Challenge

[phmadeira]

hello
I like to find some basic information about the Northwest Passage

like to buy a sailboat to make it, or just a bit and come back

where and when to start and finish

how long does it take

any information , recent book is welcome

thank you

[GG2015]

Try http://arcticnorthwestpassage.blogspot.com

Question? I can help!

Douglas Pohl
voyageadviser(at)gmail(dot)com

[SailOar]

What We Learned In The Search For Sir John Franklin

Two ships, the Erebus and the Terror would depart on an expedition of herculean scale, to once and for all, find the route through the icy labyrinth of the Northwest Passage. Led by a retired hero of the Napoleonic Wars, that had risen from the merchant class to earn a knighthood after two earlier Arctic journeys.

We have now learned most of what happened to the sailors in a tragic push for the mainland. Interestingly though, the search parties looking for the missing expedition would be pressed to explore the blank spots on the Arctic maps for clues into the whereabouts of the sailors. And so, we ended up learning more about the Arctic from the search parties looking for Franklin, than he would explore himself.

Franklin’s disappearance would set in motion one of the most massive search efforts in history. About 30 expeditions searched for Franklin by land and sea, and only four found any evidence. All the while, vast swathes of the unmapped parts of the Arctic were charted as they honed in on each clue and a Northwest Passage was indeed finally found along the way.

[SailOar]

Northern Sea Route Handbook
The Japan Association of Marine Safety

【Part I】 Basic Knowledge about the Northern Sea Route

【Part II】 Diary of an Arctic Ocean Voyage

[SailOar]

Navigating the Northern Sea Route
Status and Guidance
ABS Advisory on Navigating the Northern Sea Route (PDF)

Introduction
Section 1: The Northern Sea Route (NSR)
Section 2: The Arctic Environment
Section 3: NSR Regulations
Section 4: Winterization
Section 5: Practice of Navigation in Ice Covered Waters
Section 6: NSR Port Information

[StuM]

How many boats are doing the NWP this year?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by StuM

How many boats are doing the NWP this year?

Good question.

Because of COVID, foreign pleasure craft were barred from entering Canadian arctic waters, in order to keep the tiny northern hamlets virus-free. IDK the current status.

"... As of June 1, 2020, pleasure craft will be prohibited from operating within Canada’s Arctic coastal waters (north of the 60th parallel), as well as in the coastal areas of northern Quebec and Labrador ..."
➥ https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-c...mmunities.html

I recall reading that Peter Smith [“Kiwi Roa” and Rocna anchor] was fined for attempting to transit the Northwest Passage, in 2020.

FWIW:
“The earliest traverse of the Northwest Passage was completed in 1853 starting in the Pacific Ocean to reach the Atlantic Oceam, but used sledges over the sea ice of the central part of Parry Channel.
Subsequently the following 319 complete maritime transits of the Northwest Passage have been made to the end of the 2020 navigation season, before winter began and the passage froze ...”

TRANSITS OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE TO END OF THE 2020 NAVIGATION SEASON
ATLANTIC OCEAN ↔ ARCTIC OCEAN ↔ PACIFIC OCEAN
➥ https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/resources...estpassage.pdf

[SailOar]

Northwest Passage should apply to the ‘Straits used for international navigation’

• Canada has refused to permit Chinese captain Zhai Mo and his non-stop sailboat to pass through the Northwest Passage
• Transport Canada cited the COVID-19 restriction and the ice condition in the Arctic as reasons for denying the permission, claiming that Northwest Passage waters are Canada’s internal waters
• The COVID-19 restriction seems unnecessary as none of the crew on the sailboat have had contact with anyone since leaving Shanghai, China on June 30
• And according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Straits of the Northwest Passage are used for international navigation, which means ‘all ships and aircraft enjoy the right of transit passage, which shall not be impeded'

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by SailOar

Northwest Passage should apply to the ‘Straits used for international navigation’

• Canada has refused to permit Chinese captain Zhai Mo and his non-stop sailboat to pass through the Northwest Passage
• Transport Canada cited the COVID-19 restriction and the ice condition in the Arctic as reasons for denying the permission, claiming that Northwest Passage waters are Canada’s internal waters
• The COVID-19 restriction seems unnecessary as none of the crew on the sailboat have had contact with anyone since leaving Shanghai, China on June 30
• And according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Straits of the Northwest Passage are used for international navigation, which means ‘all ships and aircraft enjoy the right of transit passage, which shall not be impeded'

Because China has a stellar record of respecting international law and Canadian citizens...

[sv_pelagia]

Originally Posted by SailOar

Northwest Passage should apply to the ‘Straits used for international navigation’

• Canada has refused to permit Chinese captain Zhai Mo and his non-stop sailboat to pass through the Northwest Passage
  
• Transport Canada cited the COVID-19 restriction and the ice condition in the Arctic as reasons for denying the permission, claiming that Northwest Passage waters are Canada’s internal waters
  
• The COVID-19 restriction seems unnecessary as none of the crew on the sailboat have had contact with anyone since leaving Shanghai, China on June 30
  
• And according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Straits of the Northwest Passage are used for international navigation, which means ‘all ships and aircraft enjoy the right of transit passage, which shall not be impeded'
  

The quotes are from a faculty member at Northwest University of Politics and Law a university in Xi'an, China.

They are not from United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

And, as just noted, a source in China is not exactly one I would choose regarding upholding international law. Yes, Canadians are currently pretty sensitive to the issue of China and respect for international law.

[SailOar]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

The quotes are from a faculty member at Northwest University of Politics and Law a university in Xi'an, China.

They are not from United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

And, as just noted, a source in China is not exactly one I would choose regarding upholding international law. Yes, Canadians are currently pretty sensitive to the issue of China and respect for international law.

Apparently the US agrees with China on this issue.

The Potential-Use Test and the Northwest Passage | Harvard Law Review

The official position of the United States government is that the Northwest Passage — a strait between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, running through the ice-packed Arctic — is one of the “straits which are used for international navigation” under Article 37 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III). Canada, on the other hand, asserts that the Northwest Passage constitutes internal waters and does not fall under any definition of international strait.

While the two nations have amicably agreed to disagree on this issue for the past several decades, the melting of Arctic ice and resultant increase in shipping through the Passage could bring the dispute to a head in the near future. Any attempt by Canada to limit or restrict navigation through the Passage in the coming years, for example, could plausibly prompt UNCLOS III member states with interests in the Arctic to bring an action against Canada in an international tribunal.....

[see extensive legal footnotes associated with this article]

[Pelagic]

Canada will as usual cave on this but, if they are smart, will probably charge the highest Pilot and Transit fees possible, to maintain a clear passage for shipping