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New bills seek U.S. icebreaker funding
Alan Bailey Petroleum News
On July 24 Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced two Senate bills, one designed to fund construction of two new Polar class icebreakers and both designed to improve Arctic mapping, navigation and the maritime infrastructure. And Rep. Don Young has introduced companion bills in the House of Representatives, according to Murkowski’s press office.
“We continue to see a loss of summer sea ice and the United States must prepare for an ice-diminished Arctic,” Murkowski said. “As access to Arctic waters increases, we will inevitably see increased maritime activity. One of the first steps is to determine what infrastructure is required and coordinate that with the other Arctic nations. Then we must make the necessary infrastructure investments that will allow us to be more prepared for an increase in human activity in the region.”
Bill includes operations monies One Senate bill, the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment Implementation Act of 2009, would authorize $750 million in expenditure in 2011 and 2012 for the construction of the two icebreakers. An additional $5 million each year from 2012 to 2015 would fund seasonal Arctic operations, with another $10 million in each of those same years to pay for projects that demonstrate emissions and discharges reductions from vessels operating in the Arctic.
The act would require the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to work with the International Maritime Organization to establish agreements among Arctic nations about shipping infrastructure such as navigation aids, icebreaking escorts, vessel tracking and oil spill prevention and response technology.
The second bill — an amendment to the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act — would authorize $10 million per year in 2011 and 2012 to pay for improved Arctic navigation data and services, and $5 million per year for mapping the U.S. extended continental shelf and monitoring coastal changes.
Earlier in July Murkowski persuaded the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund the re-activation of the aging Polar Star, which is coming out of caretaker status as the only working U.S. heavy icebreaker.
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