Ninety Degrees North

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A warming Arctic; a dispute between the west and Russia.

USA, Canada and Russia, along with China, struggle for supremacy in the high Northern Arctic. The coming Arctic conflict will require a reshaping of military infrastructure and bases. Vessels and airpower will need to adapt.

It is all driven by hydrocarbons, minerals and trade. Trade will play a big part; whoever controls the shipping routes and the seas around them is in a position of real power.

According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic holds oil and gas reserves roughly equivalent to 412 billion barrels of oil, around 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas.

Russia also launched the Akademik Lomonosov, a floating nuclear power station with two 35MW plants, to meet its increasing electricity needs in its bid to develop oil resources in remote Arctic regions.

Three new nuclear ice breakers are being launched; the three will keep navigation open all year round, capable of breaking through ice up to three meters thick to make way for convoys of ships.

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