Russian ships reach North Pole

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Russia ahead in Arctic 'gold rush'

The Russians are leading a new "gold rush" in the
high north, with a bold attempt to assert a claim to oil, gas and
mineral rights over large parts of the Arctic Ocean up to the North
Pole.

Russia's most famous explorer, Artur Chilingarov,
complete with nautical beard, is leading an expedition to plant the
Russian flag in a capsule on the ocean seabed under the pole itself.

"The Arctic is Russian," Chilingarov has said. "We must prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian coastal shelf."

Russia is claiming that an underwater mountain known as the Lomonosov Ridge is actually an extension of the Russian landmass.

This, it argues, justifies its claim to a triangular
area up to the pole, giving it rights under the United Nations Law of
the Sea Convention.

Under Article 76 of the convention, a state can claim a
200 nautical mile exclusive zone and beyond that up to 150 nautical
miles of rights on the seabed. The baseline from which these distances
are measured depends on where the continental shelf ends.

Russia lodged a formal claim in 2001 but the UN's
Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf told it to resubmit
the claim. The flag-planting can be seen as a symbolic gesture in
support.

At the same time, other states are acting to protect
their interests in the Arctic. Canada is planning to build up to eight
new patrol ships and the US Congress is considering a proposal to build
two new heavy polar ships.

The rush for the Arctic has become more frenzied because
of the melting of parts of the polar ice cap, which will allow easier
exploration, and by the urgent need for new sources of oil and gas. A
new sense of nationalism is also evident in Russia.

Click here for a detailed map of the region

The ice thaw is predicted by a team of international
researchers whose Arctic Climate Impact Assessment suggested in 2004
that the summer ice cap could melt completely before the end of this
century because of global warming.

If the ice retreats, it could open up new shipping routes and new areas where natural resources could be exploited.

The US Geological Survey estimates that a quarter of the world's undiscovered energy resources lies in Arctic areas.

At the moment, nobody's shelf extends up to the North
Pole so there is an international area around the Pole administered by
the International Seabed Authority from Kingston, Jamaica.

But quite apart from the Russian claim there are multiple other disputes.

The US and Canada argue over rights in the North-west
Passage, Norway and Russia differ over the Barents Sea, Canada and
Denmark are competing over a small island off Greenland, the Russian
parliament is refusing to ratify an agreement with the US over the
Bering Sea and Denmark is claiming the North Pole itself.

North Pole solutions

The five countries involved are considering two
other potential ways of sharing the region, in which all the sea would
be divided between them.

The "median line method", supported by Canada and
Denmark, would divide the Arctic waters between countries according to
their length of nearest coastline. This would give Denmark the Pole
itself but Canada would gain as well.

The "sector method" would take the North Pole as the
centre and draw lines south along longitudes. This would penalise
Canada but Norway and, to a lesser extent, Russia, would gain.

One major problem is that the United States has not
ratified the 1982 UN convention, largely because senators did not want
to have international restrictions placed on American actions.

However, in May 2007, Senator Richard Lugar, a senior
Republican, pleaded for ratification in the light of the Russian moves,
saying that an American voice was needed at the