05/13/16 Dana Eidsness, Maine's Growing Role as an Arctic State
Posted by Erik Jorgensen
Bob Martin introduced our speaker, Dana Eidsness, Director of Maine’s North Atlantic Development office at the Maine International Trade Center. This is the entity responsible for coordinating Maine’s commercial involvement with the Arctic. Formerly a Munjoy Hill Resident, she noted that while it may not seem that Maine has much in common with the Arctic, there are a lot of things happening up north that will likely bring increasing benefit to Maine.The leitmotif connecting all these issues is the massive melt-off of Arctic ice seen in recent decades. It has wide implications for cities and states on the ocean. It also means new access to resources. Countries are paying attention to the Arctic, even places like Singapore, which have no geographical connection. In other words, “what’s happening in the Arctic isn’t staying in the Arctic.” This also means that new sea routes are opening up. Many estimates suggest that the Atlantic and Pacific will soon be connected via a northerly route. By 2030 as much as 5% of world shipping could go through this passage.
In Maine, developments like Eimskip’s new headquarters have made Maine a hub for niche shipping. Maine exports to Iceland are now up 315% since Eimskip moved here. This is our own “Arctic Highway” and has resulted in the doubling of the Port of Portland in terms of its facilities and capacity.
Eidsness works with the Arctic Council, an entity comprised of the eight Arctic nations plus observer nations, plus representatives from the region’s indigenous nations. Its central focus is around sustainable development and environmental stewardship. The Council has taken notice of Maine and Portland has been selected for several Council meetings in 2016, including “senior arctic officials” meeting here in October. Meetings will include public components.
As commerce develops in the region, questions arise, ranging from who “owns” the Arctic, to determining who is responsible for rescues, etc. These are all issues that need to be resolved by the Council.
Eidsness’ presentation prompted a number of questions from the audience ranging from inquiries about the state of the US icebreaker fleet (we have two aging ships – other nations have many more); to the much publicized Scandinavian Maine lobster “crisis” (Dana thinks this is not a real issue, given how the Swedish “invading lobsters” had banded claws and were likely to have been released); to the rise of tourism in the Arctic region, notably that a massive cruise ship will be making an historic (and possibly ill-advised) transit of the Northwest Passage this year. All passengers will be required to carry evacuation insurance.