Arctic

Coast Guard taking public comment on Arctic vessel routes

JUNEAU -- The Coast Guard has begun accepting public comment on proposed vessel routes to the Arctic Ocean off western and northwest Alaska.

KTOO-radio reports traffic through the Bering Strait has about doubled over seven years. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Daniel Abel says there are about 400 transits annually by about 200 vessels.

He says the proposed routes would help control how vessels transit north from the Aleutians through the Bering Sea and into Arctic waters.

The four-mile wide, two-way routes are designed to have vessels avoid active commercial fishing grounds or environmentally sensitive areas.

Abel says following the routes likely will be voluntary.

Public comment on the Coast Guard's proposed Port Access Route Study will be taken until June.

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