Arctic+Sovereignty+and+the+SS+Manhattan

=Arctic Sovereignty and the SS __Manhattan__=  The Northwest Passage in the Arctic has been the site of many exploration expeditions since the late 19th century. Since Confederation, the Canadian government has claimed this area to be under Canadian authority. In 1969 this authority was challenged by the American tanker the SS //Manhattan// which entered the Northwest Passage on an exploration mission. The tanker was exploring how to transport oil from Alaska to the United States. The Canadian government disputed this action saying that the US was supposed to ask permission to enter the Canadian controlled Northwest Passage. The US said that these were international waters. Canda’s concern was two-fold: fear of oil spills which would harm the fragile Arctic environment, and losing control over the islands in the Arctic. Canada decided to bring this matter to the International Court of Justice. The US did not challenge the dispute and the issue was soon forgotten. In 1985, however, the issue arose again as another Ameircan tanker the SS //Polar Sea// also entered the Passage without Canadian permission. Clearly, these two actions show that the US does not acknowledge Canada’s sovereignty (independent authority) in the area.

 To this day, this remains a hot topic, however, the government has not been very bold in doing something about their concerns. In the 1960s and 1980s, when the two actions mentioned about occurred, Canada made it clear it was asserting its nationalism (or even anti-Americanism) by launching a case for the International Court. However, although the government planned two projects to prove its interest in the Arctic, (a new multi-million dollar icebreaker and nuclear submarine patrols) neither of those projects were realized. Nevertheless, arctic sovereignty has once again hit the headlines and the Canadian government seems to have found interest in this topic again. Currently, Canada is in a heated dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada’s Ellesmere Island and Denmark’s Greenland. This small, uninhabited island has been a bone of contention for Canada and Denmark for over 50 years. The island is important as there are fishing and scientific issues related to it. Overall, the arctic is significant for Canada as it feels it needs to assert its authority in this region as a way of maintaining its strength and promise to keep its "True North, strong and free". 