Chukchi Sea, Bering Strait and Bering Sea

Tracks of vessels 400 gross tonnes or greater (excluding fishing vessels) on the Bering Sea in 2014 and 2015. The red line shows the route that was approved and went into effect in December 2018. Map via U.S. Coast Guard

Tracks of vessels 400 gross tonnes or greater (excluding fishing vessels) on the Bering Sea in 2014 and 2015. The red line shows the route that was approved and went into effect in December 2018. Map via U.S. Coast Guard

Over the past few decades, Arctic sea ice has decreased rapidly, allowing for an increase in vessels transiting the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage. Due to the still relatively low number of vessels in the area, major incidents have largely been avoided. However, as traffic increases, so do risk and environmental impacts. In 2010, in an effort to preempt a disaster, the U.S. Coast Guard initiated the Bering Strait PARS to expand upon the safety measures in place around the Aleutian Islands.

The Coast Guard developed a two-way route and Areas to Be Avoided (ATBAs) simultaneously and submitted both to the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) for approval in 2017.

The objectives for the Two-Way Route are to:

  • Organize the streams of ships passing through the Bering Strait and along the U.S. and Russian coasts in the Bering Sea;

  • Reduce the risks of collision and to provide adequate sea room for ships executing collision avoidance measures;

  • Provide ships with a maximum amount of flexibility in avoiding ice when present;

  • Help ships avoid numerous shoals, reefs, and islands that lie close outside the two-way routes, particularly where the area has not been surveyed thoroughly;

  • Enable better monitoring of a ship's transit through the region and allow more time for intervention in case a ship suffers a breakdown of its propulsion machinery;

  • Allow ships to follow well-defined routes, thereby enhancing the safety and efficiency of navigation;

  • Prevent and reduce the risk of pollution or other damage to the marine environment, including national and international recognized habitat and species;

  • Avoid the key areas of fishing activities and avoid the areas of subsistence activities by local Indigenous communities.

The final approved routing measures in the Bering Sea and Bering Strait. Map via Audubon Alaska

The final approved routing measures in the Bering Sea and Bering Strait. Map via Audubon Alaska

For the ATBAs, the objectives are to:

  • Increase ship safety by mitigating the heightened risk created from increasing traffic and shipping activity by maintaining a safe distance between ships and the shoreline;

  • Help ships avoid numerous shoals, reefs, and islands, particularly where the areas have not been surveyed thoroughly;

  • Reduce the risk of shipping accidents and incidents;

  • Provide more time to mount a response to a developing maritime emergency, e.g., a ship suffering breakdown of its propulsion machinery;

  • Prevent and reduce the risk of pollution or other damage to the marine environment, including national and international recognized habitat and species;

  • Avoid the key areas of fishing activities and avoid the presence of subsistence activities.

During the PARS, the Coast Guard liaised with federal and state agencies, communities, tribal organizations, environmental groups, and other interested stakeholders. Due to the Bering Strait’s international nature, the two-way route proposal was developed in cooperation with Russia and submitted jointly to IMO, while the ATBA proposal was submitted separately by only the U.S. The IMO approved the route and the ATBAs, and they went into effect in that December.

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