Resources

Regulations.gov Comment Page — Enter your comment, upload a written letter, and share your first and last name to submit a comment directly to the U.S. Coast Guard.
AACPARS Flyer - Announcement of the study from the Coast Guard and conceptual routes based on comments from the 2015 Bering Strait PARS.
Federal Register: Port Access Route Study: Alaskan Arctic Coast — The original notice filed by the Coast Guard announcing the beginning of the Arctic PARS on December 21, 2018, with a public comment period that ended September 1, 2019.
Federal Register: Extension of Comment Period for the Port Access Route Study: Alaskan Arctic Coast — The Coast Guard announcing the extension of the comment period through June 30, 2020.
Arctic Today: US Coast Guard Launches Study Aimed at Improving Shipping Safety in Chukchi and Beaufort Seas — Coverage of the Arctic PARS announcement.

The Role of Areas to Be Avoided in the Governance of Shipping in the Greater Bering Strait Region — This paper explores the potential for additional ATBAs to promote environmental conservation in both the Bering Strait itself and in the larger Bering-Chukchi ecoregion as one component of a wider discussion also encompassing Indigenous and maritime concerns.
Efficacy of a Voluntary Area to Be Avoided to Reduce Risk of Lethal Vessel Strikes to Endangered Whales — Research estimates voluntary vessel-operator compliance ranging from 57% to 87% and stabilizing at 71% within the first five months of implementation, and reducing the risk of lethal vessel strikes to right whales by 82%.
An Indigenous approach to ocean planning and policy in the Bering Strait region of Alaska — This paper articulates Indigenous perspectives about the ocean and a culturally appropriate methodology developed in the Bering Strait region for a visioning process that can be used to bridge western and Indigenous value systems. Recommendations for an Indigenous approach focused on inclusion, examination of values, adequate representation, and Tribal direction in ocean planning and policy are made.
Vessels, risks, and rules: Planning for safe shipping in Bering Strait - This paper describes mitigation measures available to reduce environmental and cultural risks and how these measures can be implemented.

Guide to the International Maritime Organization — A resource for anyone looking to get a crash course in what the International Maritime Organization is and how it operates. The guide includes descriptions of committees and sub-committees, section by section summaries of key legal instruments (like the Polar Code), a list of every participating non-governmental organization with links to their websites, a glossary of common acronyms and terms, and much more.
The role of the International Maritime Organization in reducing vessel threat to whales: Process, options, action and effectiveness - This paper provides a description of vessel navigation modifications in specific geographic areas where IMO-adopted measures to protect large whales have been implemented and methods that can and have been used to assess the effectiveness of such measures.
IMO: Ships’ Routeing — A description of the IMO’s role in establishing ship routing measures.