Shipping in the Bering Strait Region

Overview

An aerial view of a cargo ship moving through ice.
aerocainua / Adobe Stock

Less Ice, More Ships

The Arctic is warming at more than three times the rate of the rest of the planet.

As sea ice melts, ship traffic is increasing in the Bering Strait. This body of water between Russia and Alaska is only 55 miles wide at its narrowest point – and serves as a critical migratory route for thousands of marine mammals and millions of seabirds.

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Data Sources: March 4th Ice Extent, Spreen, G., L. Kaleschke, and G.Heygster (2008), Sea ice remote sensing using AMSR-E 89 GHz channels J. Geophys. Res., vol. 113, C02S03, doi:10.1029/2005JC003384. Median Extent, NSIDC Sea Ice Index, Version 3 (nsidc.org/data/G02135/versions/3)

The extent of sea ice on March 4^th, 2019 compared to the historic median for that date shows a dramatic reduction in sea ice cover in the Bering Sea.

The Sun's bright reflection on Arctic sea ice.
Silver / Adobe Stock

Between 2008 and 2018, vessel traffic through the Bering Strait increased almost 150%.

This trend is expected to continue with more tankers, cruise ships, cargo ships and research vessels using the strait.

Vessel traffic in U.S. Arctic waters could increase by a third by 2030.

Historical and Projected Vessel Counts in the U.S. Arctic Region, 2008-2030.

Marine Gateway

The Bering Strait, a narrow body of water between the United States and Russia, is the only place on the planet where the Pacific and Arctic Oceans meet.

Generalized Arctic shipping routes.
Ocean Conservancy

All trans-Arctic shipping routes converge at the Bering Strait

The Northern Sea Route through waters north of Russia
The Northwest Passage through Canadian waters; and
A future Transpolar Sea Route across the North Pole, which could open by mid-century as ice melts, all converge at the Bering Strait

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Data Sources: Modified from PAME’s 2009 Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (pame.is)
Ocean Conservancy

Bering Strait Shipping Routes Map

Satellite image of Bering Strait sea ice, February 4, 2014
NASA/Jeff Schmaltz/DPA

A Rich Migration Corridor: Home to Indigenous Peoples and a Way of Life

The Northern Bering Sea and Bering Strait provide crucial habitat for millions of seabirds and thousands of marine mammals that migrate through the area as ice retreats each spring.
Iñupiat, Central Yup’ik, Cup’ik, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, and Chukchi Peoples who have lived in coastal communities in this region since time immemorial rely on the ocean’s bounty for food security and as a cultural cornerstone.

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An Arctic "sun dog” frames a hunter near Point Hope, Alaska.
Clark Mishler

A dip-net fisherman fishes for chum salmon on the lower Yukon River near Emmonak, Alaska.
Clark Mishler

A Yup'ik woman arranges salmon on a drying rack at fish camp near Kwethluk, Alaska.
Clark Mishler

A Tufted Puffin takes flight.
Rocky Grimes

A pair of Parakeet Auklets on the cliffs of St. Paul Island, Alaska.
Patricia Chambers

A female Pacific walrus resting in a haul-out area in Point Lay, Alaska.
USFWS

A ringed seal hauls out on the ice near Barrow, Alaska.
Chris Linder

A Red-faced Cormorant peeks out from a rocky ledge on the cliffs of St. Paul Island, Alaska.
Patricia Chambers

A bowhead whale in the Chukchi Sea.
Steven Kazlowski

A beluga whale during spring migration in the Chukchi Sea.
Steven Kazlowski

Fish are essential to an Arctic Tern's diet.
Nick Greaves

A common small gull, the Black-legged Kittiwake spends most of the year at sea.
S. Walter

An Arctic "sun dog” frames a hunter near Point Hope, Alaska.
Photo By: Clark Mishler

A dip-net fisherman fishes for chum salmon on the lower Yukon River near Emmonak, Alaska.
Photo By: Clark Mishler

A Yup'ik woman arranges salmon on a drying rack at fish camp near Kwethluk, Alaska.
Photo By: Clark Mishler

A Tufted Puffin takes flight.
Photo By: Rocky Grimes

A pair of Parakeet Auklets on the cliffs of St. Paul Island, Alaska.
Photo By: Patricia Chambers

A female Pacific walrus resting in a haul-out area in Point Lay, Alaska.
Photo By: USFWS

A ringed seal hauls out on the ice near Barrow, Alaska.
Photo By: Chris Linder

A Red-faced Cormorant peeks out from a rocky ledge on the cliffs of St. Paul Island, Alaska.
Photo By: Patricia Chambers

A bowhead whale in the Chukchi Sea.
Photo By: Steven Kazlowski

A beluga whale during spring migration in the Chukchi Sea.
Photo By: Steven Kazlowski

Fish are essential to an Arctic Tern's diet.
Photo By: Nick Greaves

A common small gull, the Black-legged Kittiwake spends most of the year at sea.
Photo By: S. Walter

Alaska Native Leaders Speak About a Changing Bering Sea

For the first time, elders from eight communities in the Bering Sea region put together this video as part of NOAA’s annual Arctic Report Card.

Seven miles from shore at the edge of an open lead in pack ice on the Chukchi Sea.
Steven Kazlowski

Polar bear and cargo ship in Kaktovik, Alaska.
Steven J. Kazlowski

Increasing Threats

More vessel traffic poses a host of threats to this rapidly changing environment, including ship strikes on marine mammals, underwater noise that disturbs wildlife, air and water pollution, accidents that cause devastating oil spills, and potential conflicts with subsistence hunters in small boats.

What will this mean for the Bering Strait region?

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