The extent of Arctic sea ice this October was the sixth-lowest on record, according to a National Snow and Ice Data Center release last week -- in a year in which the overall seasonal low reached its fourth-lowest extent on record in September.
Figures such as those have fueled renewed interest in Arctic shipping, which has grown steadily in recent years, until last year, when it suffered a sharp one-year decline. Figures for 2015 aren't yet available, but the Arctic will likely see an increase in the number of ships operating in the region.
It also brings word from China's largest shipping company, Cosco, that it will launch regularly scheduled shipping services along Russia's Northern Sea Route.
That announcement "basically lays to rest a lot of the conversation that a lot of the naysayers have had," Robert Huebert, University of Calgary political science professor specializing in Arctic issues, told CBC News. "Once you have the traffic up there, what's to prevent it from going over the North Pole, so to speak, just simply going through the Northwest Passage?"
South Korea and Iceland are among the nations eyeing such a route. Presidents of both countries agreed at a meeting Monday in Korea to establish an Arctic Ocean shipping route together, the Korea Times reports. According to the Korea Herald, such a route between Korea and Europe could be available year-round by 2030, and would shave sailing time for Korean cargo vessels by about 10 days.
But not all signs point to an immediate spike in Arctic shipping. As the Wall Street Journal noted last year, most traffic on Russia's Northern Sea Route consisted of fossil fuel shipments. Wire service UPI reported Monday that Russia's Arctic oil output is declining -- with a local governor blaming lack of infrastructure as major constraint. Meanwhile a Louisiana shipbuilder canceled work a pair of polar class icebreakers, a move Marine Log says "comes in the wake of Shell's decision to halt its operations offshore Alaska for the 'foreseeable future.'"