Governance of Arctic Shipping: Rethinking Risk, Human Impacts and Regulation

This open access book is a result of the Dalhousie-led research project Safe Navigation and Environment Protection, supported by a grant from the Ocean Frontier Institute’s the Canada First Research Excellent Fund (CFREF).  The book focuses on Arctic shipping and investigates how ocean change and anthropogenic impacts affect our understanding of risk, policy, management and regulation for safe navigation, environment protection, conflict management between ocean uses, and protection of Indigenous peoples’ interests. A rapidly changing Arctic as a result of climate change and ice loss is rendering the North more accessible, providing new opportunities while producing impacts on the Arctic. The book explores ideas for enhanced governance of Arctic shipping through risk-based planning, marine spatial planning and scaling up shipping standards for safety, environment protection and public health. 

Aldo Chircop is Professor of Law and Canada Research Chair (Tier I), based at the Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Canada. Dr. Chircop chairs the International Working Group on Polar Shipping of the Comité Maritime International. He has published extensively on the international law of the sea, Canadian and international maritime law and Arctic shipping.

Floris Goerlandt, D.Sc. (Tech) holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Risk Management and Resource Optimization for Marine Industries at Dalhousie University. With a background in marine technology, maritime sciences, and maritime risk and safety management, his research focuses on maritime risk governance, organizational processes for accident prevention, and methods and tools for emergency preparedness and response.

Claudio Aporta is a cultural anthropologist who has studied and documented Inuit environmental and geographic knowledge for 20 years across the totality of the Canadian Arctic. He is Associate Professor at the Marine Affairs Program, Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Canada.

Ronald Pelot has been a Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Dalhousie University, Canada, since 1994.  Over the past two decades, he and his team have developed new software tools and analysis methods applied to maritime traffic safety (accidents), coastal zone security, and marine spills. Research methods encompass spatial risk analysis, vessel traffic modelling, data processing and pattern analysis, location models for response resource allocation, and safety analyses. Dr. Pelot has published over 50 journal articles and produced more than 100 technical reports.