Hobart, Australia, September 29, 2017 – The International Ice Charting Working
Group (IICWG) convened its 18th annual meeting September 25-29 in Hobart. This
year’s meeting was hosted by the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative
Research Centre and the Antarctic Gateway Partnership. The theme for the meeting
was “New technologies, big data, and the future of ice charting and forecasting”.
Over 60 scientists, mariners, regulators, and
operational ice forecasters from 12 countries
met to discuss issues affecting sea ice and
iceberg information for the maritime
community with a focus on the Antarctic.
Discussions were held with the International
Association of Antarctica Tour Operators
(IAATO) about how accurate ice information
contributes to the safety of Polar tourism.
IAATO also conveyed input from the
Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise
Operators (AECO). The Australian Antarctic
Division led a table-top exercise to explore
how the ice services could best support
emergency responders in an Antarctic
Search and Rescue situation.
Sea ice in the Arctic continues its uneven
decline in both summer and winter. Despite the general pan-Arctic reduction of sea
ice, neither the Northwest Passage nor the Northern Sea Route totally cleared of ice
this summer. Additionally, the South Greenland sea ice season in 2017 lasted 2
months longer than the previous year causing delays and cancellations for large
cruise ships. After reaching a record maximum extent in 2014, Antarctic sea-ice
extent recorded record low seasonal values in 2016 followed by a record low
minimum in February 2017, based on satellite data since 1979, prompting
considerable scientific discussion about the cause.
The IICWG issued the following statement:
“Extreme variability, both from place to place and from year to year, makes
knowledge of local and regional ice conditions critically important for polar shipping.
The IICWG urges all polar vessel operators to include procedures to obtain up-todate
ice information as an integral component of their Polar Waters Operational
Manual under the IMO Polar Code.”
The IICWG and its members regularly engage their users to ensure they are
providing the best possible ice information, in the form of satellite images, charts,
and forecasts, to help keep ships, their passengers, and the environment safe.
Aug 11, 2017 – U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maple
follows the Canadian icebreaker Terry Fox in the
Northwest Passage commemorating the 60th
anniversary of the U.S.-Canada project to chart
the Passage. (Courtesy USCG PO2 Nate Littlejohn)
Significant events of 2017:
• Arctic sea ice set another record in March 2017 with the smallest winter
maximum extent since records began in 1979. The summer minimum extent
was reached on September 13 and was the 8th lowest in the 38-year satellite
record. (NSIDC)
• In August, the Russian icebreaker “50 LET POBEDY” reached the North Pole
from Murmansk in just 79 hours. This was the 129th visit to the Pole by a
surface ship and the fastest ever. The voyage was dedicated to the 40th
anniversary of the 1st trip by “ARKTIKA” in 1977 which took 176 hours.
• In July, CHRISTOPHE DE MARGERIE was the first LNG tanker to transit the
Northern Sea Route without icebreaker assistance. The Arctic Class 7 vessel
made the transit in less than 7 days following the high latitude path north of
the New Siberian Islands enroute to South Korea.
• The Finnish MSV NORDICA made the earliest season transit of the Northwest
Passage going from Alaska to Greenland in 24 days in July.
• CRYSTAL SERENITY completed her second summer transit of the Northwest
Passage with 1,388 passengers and crew. She was assisted and escorted
safely through the Canadian Arctic by two icebreakers, helicopters, ice pilots,
onshore experts and intensive use of information from several ice services.
• In the Antarctic, sea ice reached a record low summer extent with the
Amundsen Sea nearly clearing of ice. (NSIDC, AARI)
• During the 2016-17 summer season, 27 expedition vessels, 12 expedition
yachts, and 4 cruise-only vessels carried 44,000 visitors to the Antarctic.
During the next 4 years, these numbers are expected to increase as new,
larger vessels enter the expedition voyage industry. (IAATO)
• On July 12, one of the largest icebergs ever recorded was calved from the
Larsen-C ice shelf in Antarctica. It is unlikely to pose a hazard to shipping
during the next few years due its slow movement in the heavy sea ice of
Weddell Sea but ice services are monitoring it.
• Over one thousand icebergs invaded the North Atlantic shipping lanes making
2017 the fourth extreme iceberg season in a row. Calving from rapidly
retreating Greenland glaciers is the source of these icebergs.
• The Baltic Sea experienced the fourth mild ice winter in a row, although the
ice stayed unusually late to early June due to the cold spring.
• Ice cover on the Great Lakes in winter 2017 was very low for the second year
in a row, after two consecutive years of unusually extensive ice cover.
The IICWG was formed in 1999 to promote cooperation among the world’s ice
services on all matters concerning sea ice and icebergs. The members of the IICWG
are the operational ice services of Argentina, Canada, Chile, Denmark (Greenland),
Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the United States,
as well as the British Antarctic Survey and the International Ice
Patrol.
For up to date information on Sea Ice Services in the world see:
http://wdc.aari.ru/wmo/docs/WMO574.pdf (Edition 17)
David Reilly | Public Affairs Manager Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems CRC
