Archive
World Oil Transit Chokepoints
World Oil Transit Chokepoints
Source: Energy Information Administration
Chokepoints are narrow channels along widely used global sea routes, some so narrow that restrictions are placed on the size of the vessel that can navigate through them. They are a critical part of global energy security due to the high volume of oil traded through their narrow straits.
In 2011, total world oil production amounted to approximately 87 million barrels per day (bbl/d), and over one-half was moved by tankers on fixed maritime routes. By volume of oil transit, the Strait of Hormuz, leading out of the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans, are two of the world’s most strategic chokepoints.
The international energy market is dependent upon reliable transport. The blockage of a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs. In addition, chokepoints leave oil tankers vulnerable to theft from pirates, terrorist attacks, and political unrest in the form of wars or hostilities as well as shipping accidents that can lead to disastrous oil spills. The seven straits highlighted in this brief serve as major trade routes for global oil transportation, and disruptions to shipments would affect oil prices and add thousands of miles of transit in an alternative direction, if even available.
Facts of the catch: occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities to fishing workers, 2003–2009
Facts of the catch: occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities to fishing workers, 2003–2009
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Fishers and related fishing workers1 deal with a set of working conditions unique among all other occupations. This occupation is characterized by strenuous work, long hours, seasonal employment, and some of the most hazardous conditions in the workforce.2 These workers are often at sea for weeks or months at a time, sometimes having to stand on deck, fishing for long periods with little or no sleep. They are constantly being tossed around by wind and rough seas, with water in their face and under their feet, which adds an element of balance to the skills needed to do their job safely. Weather does not stop production, and given that these workers do not work in a factory or office building, it increases the unpredictability of their working conditions. Access to on-site medical care for these workers is limited to the knowledge of those on the boat with them or the response of the Coast Guard.
Thanks to television shows such as Deadliest Catch, Lobstermen, Swords, Rajin Cajuns, Hook Line and Sisters, Wicked Tuna, Big Shrimpin’, and Toughest Tribes,3 viewers can see the hazards these workers face first hand. But what do the numbers show? Fishers and related fishing workers have had the highest fatal injury rate of any occupation since 2005. Their rate of fatal injury in 2009 was 203.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, more than 50 times the all-worker rate of 3.5. From 2003 to 2009, an average of 48 fishers and related fishing workers died each year as a result of an injury incurred on the job.
There were approximately 31,000 people employed as fishers and related fishing workers in 2009.4 This issue of Beyond the Numbers looks at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program on fishers and related fishing workers for the period from 2003 to 2009.Although this report focuses primarily on fatal injuries among workers in this occupation, for context, it begins with some information on the nonfatal injuries and illnesses experienced by these workers. This is followed by a detailed description of what the data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) show about fatal injuries to fishers and related fishing workers during the 2003–2009 period. The final section gives an overview of the fatal injuries that occurred among a subset of the fishers and related fishing workers in the private shellfish fishing industry, including crab fishing, lobster fishing, and shrimp fishing, in order to provide more insight into the special hazards these workers endure.
CRS — Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress
Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The Navy for several years has carried out a variety of irregular warfare (IW) and counterterrorism (CT) activities. Among the most readily visible of the Navy’s recent IW operations have been those carried out by Navy sailors serving ashore in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Many of the Navy’s contributions to IW operations around the world are made by Navy individual augmentees (IAs)—individual Navy sailors assigned to various DOD operations.
The May 1-2, 2011, U.S. military operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed Osama bin Laden reportedly was carried out by a team of 23 Navy special operations forces, known as SEALs (an acronym standing for Sea, Air, and Land). The SEALs reportedly belonged to an elite unit known unofficially as Seal Team 6 and officially as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU).
The Navy established the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) informally in October 2005 and formally in January 2006. NECC consolidated and facilitated the expansion of a number of Navy organizations that have a role in IW operations. The Navy established the Navy Irregular Warfare Office in July 2008, published a vision statement for irregular warfare in January 2010, and established “a community of interest” to develop and advance ideas, collaboration, and advocacy related to IW in December 2010.
The Navy’s riverine force is intended to supplement the riverine capabilities of the Navy’s SEALs and relieve Marines who had been conducting maritime security operations in ports and waterways in Iraq.
The Global Maritime Partnership is a U.S. Navy initiative to achieve an enhanced degree of cooperation between the U.S. Navy and foreign navies, coast guards, and maritime police forces, for the purpose of ensuring global maritime security against common threats.
The Southern Partnership Station (SPS) and the Africa Partnership Station (APS) are Navy ships, such as amphibious ships or high-speed sealift ships, that have deployed to the Caribbean and to waters off Africa, respectively, to support U.S. Navy engagement with countries in those regions, particularly for purposes of building security partnerships with those countries and for increasing the capabilities of those countries for performing maritime-security operations. The Navy’s IW and CT activities pose a number of potential oversight issues for Congress, including the definition of Navy IW activities and how much emphasis to place on IW and CT activities in future Navy budgets.
CRS — Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress
Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The Coast Guard’s proposed FY2013 budget includes $8 million in acquisition funding to initiate survey and design activities for a new polar icebreaker. The Coast Guard’s Five Year Capital Investment Plan includes an additional $852 million in FY2014-FY2017 for acquiring the ship. The Coast Guard anticipates awarding a construction contract for the ship “within the next five years” and taking delivery on the ship “within a decade.” The project to design and build a polar icebreaker is a new acquisition project initiated in the FY2013 budget.
Coast Guard polar icebreakers perform a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The Coast Guard’s two existing heavy polar icebreakers—Polar Star and Polar Sea— have exceeded their intended 30-year service lives, and neither is currently operational. Polar Star was placed in caretaker status on July 1, 2006. Congress in FY2009 and FY2010 provided funding to repair it and return it to service for 7 to 10 years; the Coast Guard expects the reactivation project to be completed in December 2012. On June 25, 2010, the Coast Guard announced that Polar Sea had suffered an unexpected engine casualty; the ship was unavailable for operation after that. The Coast Guard placed Polar Sea in commissioned, inactive status on October 14, 2011, and plans to decommission it in FY2012.
The Coast Guard’s third polar icebreaker—Healy—entered service in 2000. Compared to Polar Star and Polar Sea, Healy has less icebreaking capability (it is considered a medium polar icebreaker), but more capability for supporting scientific research. The ship is used primarily for supporting scientific research in the Arctic.
The reactivation of Polar Star and the decommissioning of Polar Sea will result in an operational U.S. polar icebreaking fleet consisting for the next 7 to 10 years of one heavy polar icebreaker (Polar Star) and one medium polar icebreaker (Healy). The new polar icebreaker for which initial acquisition funding is requested in the FY2013 budget would replace Polar Star at about the time Polar Star’s 7- to 10-year reactivation period ends.
Potential issues for Congress regarding Coast Guard polar icebreaker modernization include the potential impact on U.S. polar missions of the United States currently having no operational heavy polar icebreakers; the numbers and capabilities of polar icebreakers the Coast Guard will need in the future; the disposition of Polar Sea following its decommissioning; whether the new polar icebreaker initiated in the FY23013 budget should be funded with incremental funding (as proposed in the Coast Guard’s Five Year Capital Investment Plan) or full funding in a single year, as required under the executive branch’s full funding policy; whether new polar icebreakers should be funded entirely in the Coast Guard budget, or partly or entirely in some other part of the federal budget, such as the Department of Defense (DOD) budget, the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget, or both; whether to provide future icebreaking capability through construction of new ships or service life extensions of existing polar icebreakers; and whether future polar icebreakers should be acquired through a traditional acquisition or a leasing arrangement.
See also: Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF)
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports
Source: Government Accountability Office
1. Maritime Security: Coast Guard Efforts to Address Port Recovery and Salvage Response. GAO-12-494R, April 6.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-494R
100 years after Titanic, Allianz report highlights new shipping risks
100 years after Titanic, Allianz report highlights new shipping risks
Source: Allianz
Despite greatly improved safety records in the century since Titanic, the maritime industry faces new challenges driven by the continued growth of worldwide shipping, specialist marine insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has advised.
In the 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic, the world commercial shipping fleet has trebled to over 100,000 vessels, yet overall shipping loss rates have declined from one ship per 100 per year in 1912 to one ship per 670 per year in 2009.
While factors such as new technologies and regulation have tremendously improved marine safety, new risks have emerged. AGCS’s comprehensive report, ‘Safety and Shipping 1912-2012: From Titanic to Costa Concordia’, based on research from Cardiff University’s Seafarers’ International Research Centre (SIRC), highlights several key challenges for the industry including the growing trend to ‘super size’ ships and cost pressures pushing ship-owners to source crews from emerging economies where standards of training and assessment can be inconsistent.
Other significant safety risks include reduced crewing numbers, which may compromise margins of safety and encourage ‘human error’ risks; increasing bureaucracy on board ships; the continued threat of piracy off Somalia and elsewhere; and the emergence of ice shipping and its associated navigational and environmental complications.
+ Executive Summary (PDF)
+ Full Report (PDF)
+ Downloads (including graphics)
+
New From the GAO
New GAO ReportsSource: Government Accountability Office
1. Management Report: Improvements Are Needed in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. GAO-12-415R, February 13.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-415R
2. Maritime Security: Coast Guard Needs to Improve Use and Management of Interagency Operations Centers. GAO-12-202, February 13.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-202
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/588475.pdf
Evidence that ship noise increases stress in right whales
Baleen whales (Mysticeti) communicate using low-frequency acoustic signals. These long-wavelength sounds can be detected over hundreds of kilometres, potentially allowing contact over large distances. Low-frequency noise from large ships (20–200 Hz) overlaps acoustic signals used by baleen whales, and increased levels of underwater noise have been documented in areas with high shipping traffic. Reported responses of whales to increased noise include: habitat displacement, behavioural changes and alterations in the intensity, frequency and intervals of calls. However, it has been unclear whether exposure to noise results in physiological responses that may lead to significant consequences for individuals or populations. Here, we show that reduced ship traffic in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, following the events of 11 September 2001, resulted in a 6 dB decrease in underwater noise with a significant reduction below 150 Hz. This noise reduction was associated with decreased baseline levels of stress-related faecal hormone metabolites (glucocorticoids) in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). This is the first evidence that exposure to low-frequency ship noise may be associated with chronic stress in whales, and has implications for all baleen whales in heavy ship traffic areas, and for recovery of this endangered right whale population.
See: Lull in Ship Noise After Sept. 11 Attacks Eased Stress On Right Whales
CRS — Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy’s shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years.
The Navy in February 2006 presented to Congress a goal of achieving and maintaining a fleet of 313 ships, consisting of certain types and quantities of ships. The Navy in subsequent years changed its desired quantities for certain ship types, and by mid-2011 the Navy’s desired fleet appeared to have grown to a total of 328 ships. In September 2011, the Navy began briefing congressional offices on a new 313-ship plan that incorporates some of the changes that the Navy made over the years to the 313-ship plan of February 2006 while staying within the overall total of 313 ships. Among other things, the 313-ship plan of September 2011 reduces the planned number of Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs) to 10, compared to a previously planned total of 21.
Press reports in September and October 2011 stated that the Navy, in response to anticipated reductions in planned levels of defense spending, was examining options for maintaining a fleet with considerably fewer than 300 ships; for retiring certain ships in the near term, well before the ends of their expected service lives; and for deferring or cancelling certain planned procurements. On January 5, 2012, it was reported that the Administration has decided to maintain the Navy’s force of aircraft carriers at 11 ships, rather than reduce it to 10, which was an option that reportedly was being considered.
The Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget requested funding for the procurement of 10 new battle force ships (i.e., ships that count against the 313-ship goal). The 10 ships included two Virginia- class attack submarines, one DDG-51 class Aegis destroyer, four Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs), one LPD-17 class amphibious ship, one Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ship (i.e., a maritime prepositioning ship), and one Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). The Navy’s five-year (FY2012- FY2016) shipbuilding plan, submitted to Congress in conjunction with the Navy’s proposed FY2012 budget, included a total of 55 new battle force ships, or an average of 11 per year. Of the 55 ships in the plan, 27, or almost half, are relatively inexpensive LCSs or JHSVs.
The Navy’s FY2012 30-year (FY2012-FY2041) shipbuilding plan, submitted to Congress in late May 2011, does not include enough ships to fully support all elements of the Navy’s 313-ship goal over the long run. Among other things, the Navy projects that the cruiser-destroyer and attack submarine forces would drop substantially below required levels in the latter years of the 30-year plan.
A June 2011 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the cost of the Navy’s FY2012 30- year (FY2012-FY2041) shipbuilding plan estimates that the plan would cost an average of $18.0 billion per year in constant FY2011 dollars to implement, or about 16% more than the Navy estimates. CBO’s estimate is about 7% higher than the Navy’s estimate for the first 10 years of the plan, about 10% higher than the Navy’s estimate for the second 10 years of the plan, and about 31% higher than the Navy’s estimate for the final 10 years of the plan.
Issues for Congress include the appropriate future size and structure of the Navy in light of changes in strategic and budget circumstances, the sufficiency of the Navy’s FY2012 30-year shipbuilding plan for achieving and maintaining the Navy’s 313-ship goal, and the affordability of the FY2012 30-year shipbuilding plan.
Risk-i Bulletin: Cruise Ship Grounding, Italy
Risk-i Bulletin: Cruise Ship Grounding, Italy (PDF)
Source: Guy Carpenter
Carnival has confirmed it has insurance coverage for damage to the vessel, with a deductible of approximately USD30 million. It added its third-party personal injury liability was subject to an additional USD10 million deductible. Carnival said it self-insures for loss of use of the vessel, prompting the company to estimate the impact on its 2012 earnings to be between USD85 million and USD95 million.
According to industry sources, the Costa Concordia is insured for EUR405 million (USD513 million). Reports said XL Group leads the insurance cover while RSA Insurance and Generali also provide coverage. Hanover Re announced this morning it expects a damage claim of at least EUR10 million euros (USD12.7 million) from the incident. For potential injury claims, Standard Club said it was one of several P&I clubs providing cover for the Costa Concordia.
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports
Source: Government Accountability Office
1. International Climate Change Assessments: Federal Agencies Should Improve Reporting and Oversight of U.S. Funding. GAO-12-43, November 17.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-43
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587131.pdf
2. Coast Guard: Security Risk Model Meets DHS Criteria, but More Training Could Enhance its Use for Managing Programs and Operations. GAO-12-14, November 17.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-14
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587145.pdf
3. Port Security Grant Program: Risk Model, Grant Management, and Effectiveness Measures Could Be Strengthened. GAO-12-47, November 17.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-47
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587143.pdf
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports and Testimonies
Source: Government Accountability Office
+ Reports
1. Tennessee Valley Authority: Full Consideration of Energy Efficiency and Better Capital Expenditures Planning Are Needed. GAO-12-107, October 31.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-107
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d12107high.pdf
2. Ginnie Mae: Risk Management and Cost Modeling Require Continuing Attention. GAO-12-49, November 14.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-49
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1249high.pdf
+ Testimonies
1. Foster Children: HHS Guidance Could Help States Improve Oversight of Psychotropic Prescriptions, by Greg Kutz, FAIS, before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security. GAO-12-270T, December 1.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-270T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d12270thigh.pdf
Podcast available - http://www.gao.gov/podcast/watchdog_episode_84.html
2. Federal Housing Administration: Risks to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund and the Agency’s Operations, by Mathew Scire, FMCI, before the House Committee on Financial Services. GAO-12-277T, December 1.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-277T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d12277thigh.pdf
3. Coast Guard: Observations on Arctic Requirements, Icebreakers, and Coordination with Stakeholders, by Stephen Caldwell, HSJ, before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. GAO-12-254T, December 1.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-254T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d12254thigh.pdf
Are Ships Different? Policies and Procedures for the Acquisition of Ship Programs
Are Ships Different? Policies and Procedures for the Acquisition of Ship Programs
Source: RAND Corporation
The management and oversight of a major defense acquisition program are exceedingly complex processes. The U.S. Department of Defense has a well-established set of policies, procedures, and organizations for program management and oversight, described in the “5000 series” of directives and instructions. Not all weapon systems fit comfortably within this framework, however. In particular, ship acquisition programs have characteristics that deviate from the normal framework, including concurrency of production and subsystem development, low production quantity and rate, varied test and evaluation procedures, and a unique relationship between milestone decision points and actual construction status. The authors explore these differences in detail, suggesting policies that can better account for the differences in ship acquisition programs without compromising oversight or establishing an entirely separate process.
New From the GAO
New GAO Report and Testimony
Source: Government Accountability Office
Report:
1. Options for Collecting Revenues on Liquidated Entries of Merchandise Evading Antidumping and Countervailing Duties. GAO-12-131R, November 2.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-131R
Testimony:
1. Deepwater Horizon: Coast Guard and Interior Could Improve Their Offshore Energy Inspection Programs, by Stephen L. Caldwell, director, homeland security and justice, and Frank Rusco, director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. GAO-12-203T, November 2.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-203T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d12203thigh.pdf
Podcast available - http://www.gao.gov/podcast/watchdog_episode_80.html
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports and Correspondence
Source: Government Accountability Office
+ Reports
1. VA Health Care: VA Uses Medical Injury Tort Claims Data to Assess Veterans’ Care, but Should Take Action to Ensure That These Data Are Complete. GAO-12-6R, October 28.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-6R
2. Maritime Security: Coast Guard Should Conduct Required Inspections of Offshore Energy Infrastructure. GAO-12-37, October 28.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-37
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1237high.pdf
3. Federal Courthouses: Improved Collaboration Needed to Meet Demands of a Complex Security Environment. GAO-11-857, September 28.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-857
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d11857high.pdf
4. Freight Railroad Safety: Hours of Service Changes Have Increased Rest Time, but More Can Be Done to Address Fatigue Risks. GAO-11-853, September 28.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-853
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d11853high.pdf
+ Related Product:
Freight Railroad Safety: Results of Rail Industry Survey about Hours of Service Issues (E-supplement to GAO-11-853). GAO-11-894SP, September 28.
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/gao-11-894sp/index.htm
UK — Port freight statistics: 2010 final figures
Port freight statistics: 2010 final figures
Source: Department for Transport
This publication presents final detailed statistics on freight handled by major UK ports. It updates and expands on provisional statistics published in June. These outputs replace the port freight statistics previously published in the Maritime Statistics compendium. A look-up table cross-referencing tables from Maritime Statistics and other printed publications with the new web tables is available with the tables below.
New From the GAO
New GAO Report and Testimonies (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
+ Report
1. Environmental Protection Agency: To Better Fulfill Its Mission, EPA Needs a More Coordinated Approach to Managing Its Laboratories. GAO-11-347, July 25.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-347
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d11347high.pdf
+ Testimonies
1. Energy Development and Water Use: Impacts of Potential Oil Shale Development on Water Resources, by Anu K. Mittal, Director of Natural Resources and Environment, before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, House Committee on Natural Resources. GAO-11-929T, August 24.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-929T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d11929thigh.pdf
2. Maritime Security: Progress Made, but Further Actions Needed to Secure the Maritime Energy Supply, by Stephen L. Caldwell, Director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues, before the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management, House Committee on Homeland Security. GAO-11-883T, August 24.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-883T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d11883thigh.pdf
CRS — Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via National Energy Policy Institute)
The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region’s future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. On January 12, 2009, the George W. Bush Administration released a presidential directive, called National Security Presidential Directive 66/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 25 (NSPD 66/HSPD 25), establishing a new U.S. policy for the Arctic region.
Record low extent of Arctic sea ice in 2007 focused scientific and policy attention on its linkage to global climate change, and to the implications of projected ice-free seasons in the Arctic within decades. The Arctic has been projected by several scientists to be perennially ice-free in the late summer by the late 2030s.
The five Arctic coastal states—the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark (of which Greenland is a territory)—are in the process of preparing Arctic territorial claims for submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Russian claim to the enormous underwater Lomonosov Ridge, if accepted, would reportedly grant Russia nearly one- half of the Arctic area. There are also four other unresolved Arctic territorial disputes.
The diminishment of Arctic ice could lead in coming years to increased commercial shipping on two trans-Arctic sea routes. Current international guidelines for ships operating in Arctic waters are being updated.
Changes to the Arctic brought about by warming temperatures will likely allow more exploration for oil, gas, and minerals. Warming that causes permafrost to melt could pose challenges to onshore exploration activities. Increased oil and gas exploration and tourism (cruise ships) in the Arctic increase the risk of pollution in the region. Cleaning up oil spills in ice-covered waters will be more difficult than in other areas, primarily because effective strategies have yet to be developed.
Large commercial fisheries exist in the Arctic. The United States is currently meeting with other countries regarding the management of Arctic fish stocks. Changes in the Arctic could affect threatened and endangered species. Under the Endangered Species Act, the polar bear was listed as threatened on May 15, 2008. Arctic climate change is also expected to affect the economies, health, and cultures of Arctic indigenous peoples.
Two of the Coast Guard’s three polar icebreakers—Polar Star and Polar Sea—have exceeded their intended 30-year service lives and are currently not operational. The Coast Guard’s FY2012 budget proposes decommissioning Polar Sea in FY2011. The possibility of increased sea traffic through Arctic waters also raises an issue concerning Arctic search and rescue capabilities.
The Arctic has increasingly become a subject of discussion among political leaders of the nations in the region. Although there is significant international cooperation on Arctic issues, the Arctic is also increasingly being viewed by some observers as a potential emerging security issue. In varying degrees, the Arctic coastal states have indicated a willingness to establish and maintain a military presence in the high north. U.S. military forces, particularly the Navy and Coast Guard, have begun to pay more attention to the region.
New From the GAO
New GAO Reports and Correspondence (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
20 June 2011
Reports
1. General Aviation: Security Assessments at Selected Airports. GAO-11-298, May 20. Highlights
2. Information Reporting: IRS Could Improve Cost Basis and Transaction Settlement Reporting Implementation. GAO-11-557, May 19. Highlights
3. Defense Department Cyber Efforts: More Detailed Guidance Needed to Ensure Military Services Develop Appropriate Cyberspace Capabilities. GAO-11-421, May 20. Highlights
4. Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance: DOD Needs a Strategic, Risk-Based Approach to Enhance Its Maritime Domain Awareness. GAO-11-621, June 20. Highlights
Correspondence
1. Critical Infrastructure Protection: DHS Has Taken Action Designed to Identify and Address Overlaps and Gaps in Critical Infrastructure Security Activities. GAO-11-537R, May 19.
Reissued Product
1. ACORN: Federal Funding and Monitoring. GAO-11-484, June 14. Highlights
UK — Transport Statistics: Port Provisional Statistics: Q1 2011 and 2010 summary
Transport Statistics: Port Provisional Statistics: Q1 2011 and 2010 summary
Source: Department for Transport
The key findings:
Provisional Quarterly Port Statistics (Last updated: March 2011)
- Total port traffic (tonnage) for the year ending Q4 2010 was 2 per cent up on the year ending Q4 2009.
- The number of units handled for the year ending Q4 2010 was up 3 per cent on the year ending Q4 2009.
Annual Port Statistics (Last updated: September 2010)
- In 2009, total freight traffic through UK ports was 501 million tonnes (Mt), a drop of 11 per cent on 2008.
- Inwards traffic fell by 12 per cent to 304 Mt, whilst outwards traffic fell by 9 per cent to 197 Mt.
- Grimsby and Immingham remained the UK’s leading port in 2009, handling 55 Mt (11 per cent of UK traffic). It was followed by London with 45 Mt (9 per cent) and Milford Haven and Tees & Hartlepool, both with 39 Mt (8 per cent).
- In 2009, total unitised traffic through UK major ports was 20.7 million units, a fall of 10 per cent on 2008. Dover the leading ferry port, handled 2.3 million road goods vehicles and unaccompanied trailer units. Felixstowe was the UK’s largest container port handling 1.86 million containers.
