Icebreakers Needed For Arctic, U.S. House Told

Treadwell said that while submarines are helpful for conducting research in the area, they have limitations. Some scientists contend climate change could make the Northwest Passage almost ice-free within the next few decades, making jurisdiction in the area more contested than it has been in the past. The fallout from the presence of a U.S. Coast Guard vessel in the waters led to the Arctic Co-operation Agreement, signed in 1988 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The document stated that the U.S. would refrain from sending icebreakers through the Northwest Passage without Canada's consent, but the issue of whether the waters were international or Canadian was not resolved. Anita Jones, chair of the Polar Research Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, told the committee Wednesday the U.S. Coast Guard needs two more ships in its fleet, costing about $1.4 billion US. "[We] believe that the U.S. Coast Guard should re-establish a regular, active patrol presence in the Arctic waters to meet statutory responsibilities that inevitably derive from increased human activity." http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/09/27/northwest-passage.html?ref=rss [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on September 29, 2006]

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