World

US rushes icebreaker to counter Ruskie threat to North Pole

by Actual News Geezer | August 10, 2007 at 12:37 pm

3052 views | 36 Recommendations | 6 comments

News that the US government is rushing a Coast Guard icebreaker to the north to coutner Russia's claim to the North Pole will surely annoy Canadians.

The Healy icebreaker of the U.S. Coast Guard Service leaves Seattle Monday to go to the Arctic Ocean for research mission.

The Healy is one of the three heavy Arctic icebreakers operated by the United States.

Meanwhile Canada is beginning to realize that it made a huge blunder when it cancelled plans back in 1980 to build a super icebreaker - a ship that would have defended its claims to its Arctic islands.

In the wake of last week's controversial but impressive Russian flag-planting expedition to the North Pole seabed, and amid rising tensions between five polar nations -- Canada, the U.S., Russia, Norway and Denmark -- over the future ownership of the huge oil and gas deposits that lie beneath the Arctic Ocean seafloor, the Polar 8 would have given Canada a serious upper hand in the emerging scientific, economic and diplomatic battle for the Arctic.

And now it appears Denmark is also rushing in to bolster its sovereignty claims to the north.

According to The Daily Mail, "The Danes plan to set off from Norway's remote Arctic islands of Svalbard aboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden, which will be assisted by a powerful Russian nuclear icebreaker to plough through ice as thick as 16 feet in the area north of Greenland"

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gmony714

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:11 on August 10th, 2007

It's good stuff. i wonder how many countries will try to claim a piece. those directly connected should have dibs

good info i didn't know canada had cancelled plans for an icebreaker. it may have been a mistake. I think the best move would be to join forces and equally share. but that might be a pipe dream no pun intended.

Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:18 on August 10th, 2007

I'd wait until either an American or Russian group built a structure up there, and then "nationalize" it..

SthPacific

at 16:49 on August 10th, 2007

LOL :) they probably will, but we cant complain Australia Decided to just Claim most of the Timor Sea a while back so as they say "If its good for the Goose". I would not worry to much about the Americans If I was Canadian, Putins parting gift to the World has been to prove they are a Paper Tiger. They will soon lose access to the Caspian Basin, as, Russia certainly got her revenge there, BP invested all those 401k's into that and all they have found is Liquid mud. The Russians must have known this and my guesss is that this is what the Sibel edmonds was talking about. Double dealing with the Turks etc.

PEP

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:23 on August 11th, 2007

Good stuff!Will this territory become a flash point for world tensions? It could happen.

SthPacific

at 06:26 on August 11th, 2007

Only If Russia and Finland have a falling out. The US and Canada are in no position to exploit these resources anyway. If they were they would have done so. Russia has as much right to claim this land as Australia does to claim the Timor Sea.