The theme of the session was:
Is international transit shipping via the Northern Sea Route dead in the water? A panel discussed the future of Arctic shipping in the era of escalating geopolitical tensions and regionalization, demand for Arctic resources and supply security; maritime security; transport diversification and access to alternative shipping routes; environmental concerns and the green transition.
The session was opened by Morten Høglund Chair Senior Arctic Officials, Arctic Council, MFA Norway, where Høglund presented the program with a focus on the maritime part of Norwegian Chairship of the Arctic Council 2023-2025.
A panel of experts moderated by the lead, Kjell Stokvik of the Thematic Network, consisted of:
- Björn Gunnarsson Centre for High North Logistics, Nord University, Norway
- Arild Moe, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
- Natsuhiko Otsuka, Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University, Japan
- Sungwon Hong, Institute of Arctic Logistics, Youngsan University, South Korea
- Huigen Yang, Polar Research Institute of China
Nord University wants to thank both the audience and the speakers for the contribution to a very interesting and successful UArctic session.