II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1177 

To establish a congressionally chartered seaway development corporation in 

the Arctic, consistent with customary international law, with the intention 

of uniting Arctic nations in a cooperative Arctic shipping union, where 

voluntary collective maritime shipping fees will help fund the 

infrastructural and environmental demands of safe and reliable shipping 

in the region. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2019 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Mr. KING) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a congressionally chartered seaway development 

corporation in the Arctic, consistent with customary 

international law, with the intention of uniting Arctic 

nations in a cooperative Arctic shipping union, where 

voluntary collective maritime shipping fees will help fund 

the infrastructural and environmental demands of safe 

and reliable shipping in the region. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shipping and Environ3 mental Arctic Leadership Act’’ or the ‘‘SEAL Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ARCTIC.—The term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the mean7 ing given the term in section 112 of the Arctic Re8 search and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 

9 (2) ARCTIC SEA ROUTES.—The term ‘‘Arctic 

10 Sea Routes’’ means the international Northern Sea 

11 Route, the Transpolar Sea Route, and the North12 west Passage. 

13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress finds the following: 

15 (1) The Arctic seas have historically been con16 sidered impassable and impractical maritime routes, 

17 but diminishing Arctic sea ice, better icebreaking 

18 technology, and global demand for Arctic resources 

19 has opened up opportunity for international trade 

20 routes through Arctic Ocean waters. 

21 (2) According to the National Oceanic and At22 mospheric Administration, over the last 20 years at23 mospheric temperatures have increased at a rate at 

24 least 3 times the global average, and as of 2011 sea 

25 ice thickness was 42 percent below what it was in 


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1 1979. If trends continue, summers may produce ice2 free waters in the Arctic Ocean by the late 2030s. 

3 (3) The Bering Strait is experiencing signifi4 cant increases in international traffic from vessels 

5 using the Arctic Sea Routes. Increases in inter6 national traffic are projected to continue. 

7 (4) While the Arctic Council’s agreements on 

8 search and rescue, spill prevention and response, 

9 and initiatives through the International Maritime 

10 Organization to bring about a mandatory polar code 

11 are significant, little or no cooperation yet exists in 

12 the Arctic region to bring about needed maritime in13 frastructure, nor do Arctic coastal states and user 

14 states cooperate in establishing common seaway ad15 ministration. International coordination and invest16 ment in infrastructure for shipping routes, ice17 breaker service and refuge, ports, spill prevention 

18 and response, salvage, and LNG bunkering, would 

19 be collectively beneficial for all associated states, the 

20 environment, and global commerce. 

21 (5) Trans-Arctic shipping brings substantial 

22 commercial benefits. Shipping distance between Eu23 rope and Asia could be reduced by 4,500 nautical 

24 miles, saving a week’s time and 40 percent in freight 

25 shipping distances compared to alternative routes. 


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1 Through a voluntary tariff model, user nations from 

2 the remainder of the world can be invited to share 

3 with Arctic nations the capital and operating costs 

4 necessary for safe and reliable infrastructure in the 

5 Arctic Ocean and its approaches. 

6 (6) As this new frontier emerges, the United 

7 States should assume leadership to ensure safe, se8 cure, and reliable Arctic seaway development, and 

9 further to ensure that the Arctic becomes a place of 

10 international cooperation rather than competition or 

11 conflict. 

12 (7) Setting precedent for cooperative infrastruc13 ture investment and greater reliability in domestic 

14 and international shipping is the St. Lawrence Sea15 way between the United States and Canada, which 

16 links the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The 

17 Seaway operates in internal waters, rather than 

18 international waters, but offers ship operators a co19 ordinated suite of services, similar to what is needed 

20 in the Arctic Ocean and its approaches. 

21 (8) The St. Lawrence Seaway Development 

22 Corporation, established in 1954, is a model for a 

23 United States Government corporation that con24 structs, operates, and maintains sea passage infra25 structure in water bodies shared with another naVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1177.IS S1177

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1 tion. It corresponds with its Canadian counterpart, 

2 the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. 

3 In 2010 the Great Lakes-Seaway system gen4 erated— 

5 (A) 226,833 United States and Canadian 

6 jobs; 

7 (B) $33,600,000,000 in business revenue 

8 from maritime activity; and 

9 (C) $4,600,000,000 in Federal, State, pro10 vincial, and local tax revenue from maritime ac11 tivity. 

12 (9) In 2012 the Russian Duma passed legisla13 tion to create a single management agency called the 

14 Northern Sea Route Administration, to manage all 

15 infrastructural and navigational services across what 

16 Russia claims to be its Arctic territorial waters. This 

17 is a claim the United States and many other nations 

18 do not recognize. Russia is investing heavily into 

19 Northern Sea Route infrastructure, anticipating an 

20 increase in cargo transport from 1,800,000 tons in 

21 2010 to 64,000,000 tons by 2020. The Russian 

22 Northern Sea Route Administration charges escort 

23 fees for international cargo ships as high as 

24 $500,000, and aims to collect a share of revenues 

25 that might otherwise be paid as tariffs on the Suez 


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1 Canal where collections totaled $5,300,000,000 in 

2 2017. 

3 (10) The Russian Federation has considered 

4 legislation to require all energy traffic on the North5 ern Sea Route to be carried by Russian-flagged 

6 ships. 

7 (11) Rising transit in United States Arctic re8 gion waters necessitates a management agency and 

9 infrastructure investment in a transportation sys10 tem. As identified in the Ten-Year Prioritization of 

11 Infrastructure Needs in the United States Arctic 

12 prepared by the United States Committee on the 

13 Marine Transportation System Arctic Transpor14 tation Integrated Action Team for the United States 

15 Department of Transportation, there is a significant 

16 infrastructure gap in the Arctic in the areas of— 

17 (A) navigable waterways, such as waterway 

18 coordination with international stakeholders; 

19 (B) physical infrastructure, such as infra20 structure around Port Clarence and Port of 

21 Nome in Alaska to support commercial activity; 

22 (C) informational infrastructure, such as 

23 up-to-date nautical charts and electronic aids to 

24 navigation; 


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1 (D) MTS Response Services, such as emer2 gency response and rescue capabilities; and 

3 (E) vessel operations, such as United 

4 States icebreaking capabilities. 

5 (12) The Arctic offers economic value to the 

6 United States through commercial shipping and 

7 international trade routes, energy, mining, commer8 cial fishing, tourism, and tug and barge operations. 

9 The Arctic offers environmental and cultural value 

10 through ecological significance, unique wildlife, in11 digenous peoples and Alaskan communities, and sci12 entific research. The Arctic offers security value to 

13 the United States as a way to move United States 

14 vessels and forces between the world’s oceans, and 

15 through other waters. While the United States does 

16 not support mandatory tariffs in this region, it does 

17 not currently have a way to collect voluntary tariffs 

18 for providing assistance to vessels crossing through 

19 the Bering Strait or the Arctic Ocean. 

20 (13) Reinvesting into infrastructural and envi21 ronmental demands with funds collected from inter22 national shipping fees will be essential to the long23 term viability of the Arctic. 


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1 (14) Environmental protection of the Arctic 

2 takes the form of pollution prevention, clean-up, and 

3 accident response. 

4 (15) Arctic prevention and clean-up involves all 

5 feasible efforts to remove or mitigate pollutants from 

6 the environment. Arctic ecosystems are more suscep7 tible to biological damage from pollutants than more 

8 temperate climates. Existing removable hazards, 

9 such as dumped radioactive waste and other toxic 

10 substances, must be handled. 

11 (16) Arctic pollution prevention takes collective 

12 adherence to regulations and best practices. United 

13 States leadership on clean practices in the Arctic will 

14 be essential in the ecosystem’s sustainability. Provi15 sion of bunkering facilities to enable the use of clean 

16 LNG fuels for ships will strengthen pollution preven17 tion. 

18 (17) Environmental response capabilities in the 

19 Arctic are weak, sparse, and have only begun to be 

20 internationally coordinated. Transportation of oil 

21 and gas and maritime traffic is expected to increase 

22 significantly in the Arctic, which will increase the 

23 risk of accidents. The Arctic region is particularly 

24 vulnerable to pollution from oil and gas shipping. 

25 Because oil spills in ice are considerably more comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1177.IS S1177

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1 plicated to address than oil spills in open waters, ef2 fects of oil spills could remain in the region for peri3 ods of 50 years or more. In 2010 the International 

4 Maritime Organization passed Guidelines for Ships 

5 Operating in Polar Waters, citing, ‘‘the need to en6 sure that all ship systems both are capable of func7 tioning effectively under anticipated operating condi8 tions and provide adequate levels of safety in acci9 dent and emergency situations’’. 

10 (18) In June 2014, the Government Account11 ability Office (GAO) reported that the Coast Guard 

12 was experiencing a gap in its heavy icebreaking ca13 pacity and was without a heavy icebreaker from 

14 2010 to 2013. Tariffs collected through this system 

15 can help United States public and private icebreaker 

16 capacity grow, and induce additional private invest17 ment in marine safety and services. 

18 (19) During the most recent United States 

19 Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, May 2017, the 

20 Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine En21 vironment Working Group established an Arctic 

22 Shipping Best Practices Information Forum to help 

23 serve as a resource hub of information, guidance, 

24 and guidelines that aid decision-makers involved in 

25 Arctic maritime navigation and those affected by 


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1 maritime operations related to the Polar Code. In2 surers of Arctic shipping encouraged this Forum to 

3 help bring about safer and more reliable shipping in 

4 the Arctic region, and to reduce losses. This Act is 

5 in support of the same goals. 

6 SEC. 4. CREATION OF THE ARCTIC SEAWAY DEVELOPMENT 

7 CORPORATION. 

8 There is hereby created, subject to the direction and 

9 supervision of the Secretary of Transportation, in conjunc10 tion with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense 

11 operating through the Secretary of the Army, and the Sec12 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op13 erating, a body corporate to be known as the Arctic Sea14 way Development Corporation (hereinafter referred to as 

15 the ‘‘Corporation’’). 

16 SEC. 5. SERVICES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation, 

18 in conjunction with the Secretary of the Department in 

19 which the Coast Guard is operating, the Secretary of De20 fense acting through the Secretary of the Army, and the 

21 Secretary of State, shall approve services for which the 

22 Corporation established under section 4 may charge a toll 

23 to vessels. 

24 (b) MANAGEMENT.— 

25 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 


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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab2 lished the Board of Directors of the Corpora3 tion (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Board of 

4 Directors’’), which shall be composed of 9 mem5 bers as described in subparagraph (B). 

6 (B) COMPOSITION.—The Board of Direc7 tors shall consist of— 

8 (i) the Chair of the Board of Direc9 tors to be appointed and designated by the 

10 President of the United States; 

11 (ii) the Administrator of the National 

12 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

13 (iii) the Secretary of State; 

14 (iv) the Secretary of Transportation; 

15 (v) the Secretary of the Department 

16 in which the Coast Guard is operating; and 

17 (vi) 4 senior representatives nomi18 nated by the Governor of Alaska and des19 ignated by the Secretary of Transpor20 tation, of whom— 

21 (I) 1 shall represent the govern22 ment of the State of Alaska; 

23 (II) 1 shall represent the Alaska 

24 business community; 


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1 (III) 1 shall represent the Alas2 kan coastal and subsistence commu3 nities affected by the Corporation; and 

4 (IV) 1 shall represent Alaskan 

5 maritime labor organizations. 

6 (C) TERMS.—Each member of the Board 

7 of Directors described in subparagraph (B)(vi) 

8 shall serve for a 4-year term or until a new 

9 member is designated. 

10 (D) MEETINGS.—The Board of Directors 

11 shall— 

12 (i) meet at the call of the Chair, not 

13 less often than once every 90 days; and 

14 (ii) conduct an annual meeting of the 

15 Corporation in the State of Alaska. 

16 (E) FUNCTIONS.—The Board of Directors 

17 shall develop a set of policy recommendations 

18 regarding the facilities and infrastructure nec19 essary to provide services related to safety and 

20 environmental protection and response for ves21 sels transiting the Arctic Sea Routes, includ22 ing— 

23 (i) the establishment of rules of meas24 urement for vessels and cargo on which 


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1 rates of charges or tolls for the services 

2 provided by the Corporation are based; and 

3 (ii) all other matters which the Board 

4 of Directors determines to be relevant. 

5 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The management of the 

6 Corporation shall be vested in an Administrator who 

7 shall be appointed by the Board of Directors with 

8 the approval of the Secretary of Transportation. 

9 SEC. 6. FUNCTIONS OF THE ARCTIC SEAWAY DEVELOP10 MENT CORPORATION. 

11 The functions of the Corporation are to provide serv12 ices related to safety and environmental protection and re13 sponse approved by the Secretary under section 5, includ14 ing— 

15 (1) constructing deep water port facilities in the 

16 Arctic to provide services necessary to manage and 

17 facilitate increased marine traffic, including cargo, 

18 tugs, commercial fuel bunkering, and icebreaker ves19 sels in the Arctic; 

20 (2) maintaining a relationship with east and 

21 west coast ports serving Arctic trade; 

22 (3) collaborating with the State of Alaska and 

23 the United States Coast Guard in the provision of 

24 icebreaker services, including the provision of facili25 ties, necessary for safe navigation of the Arctic; 


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1 (4) leasing private icebreakers and cooperating 

2 in offering services with icebreakers of other nations; 

3 (5) where necessary, constructing places of ref4 uge and aids to navigation within the Arctic; 

5 (6) making charts showing the locations of 

6 places of refuge readily available to all vessels oper7 ating in the Arctic; and 

8 (7) establishing strong ties among United 

9 States residents of the Arctic region, Arctic ship10 pers, and the maritime insurance industry by cre11 ating a system of maritime transportation in the 

12 Arctic that prevents loss of life, vessels, and cargo, 

13 and increases reliability of shipping in the Arctic. 

14 SEC. 7. GENERAL POWERS OF THE CORPORATION. 

15 For the purpose of carrying out its functions under 

16 this Act, the Corporation— 

17 (1) shall have succession in its corporate name; 

18 (2) may adopt and use a corporate seal, which 

19 shall be judicially noticed; 

20 (3) may sue and be sued in its corporate name; 

21 (4) may adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws, rules, 

22 and regulations governing the manner in which its 

23 business may be conducted and the powers vested in 

24 it may be exercised; 


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1 (5) may make and carry out contracts or agree2 ments as are necessary or advisable in the conduct 

3 of its business; 

4 (6) shall be held to be an inhabitant and resi5 dent of the third judicial district of the State of 

6 Alaska within the meaning on the laws of the United 

7 States relating to the venue of civil suits; 

8 (7) may appoint and fix compensation, in ac9 cordance with the provisions of subpart D of part 

10 III of title 5, United States Code, for such officers, 

11 attorneys, and employees as may be necessary for 

12 the conduct of its business, defining their authority 

13 and duties, and delegating to them such powers vest14 ed in the Corporation as the Administrator may de15 termine; 

16 (8) may acquire, by purchase, lease, property, 

17 and any interest therein, and may sell, lease, or oth18 erwise dispose of such property, as the Adminis19 trator deems necessary for the conduct of its busi20 ness; 

21 (9) shall determine the character and necessity 

22 for its obligations and expenditures, and the manner 

23 in which they shall be incurred, allowed, and paid, 

24 subject to provisions of law specifically applicable to 

25 government corporations; 


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1 (10) may impose, retain and expend a toll to 

2 provide for safety and environmental protection and 

3 response services provided by the Corporation and to 

4 carry out services approved by the Secretary under 

5 section 5; 

6 (11) may provide services and facilities, at rea7 sonable prices, to vessels operating in the Arctic; 

8 (12) if the United States portion of the revenue 

9 from the tolls charged to the users of any services 

10 provided under this section is applied solely towards 

11 the safety and environmental protection and re12 sponse services to vessels operating on the Arctic 

13 Sea Routes as specified in paragraph (11), may par14 ticipate with international entities in the ownership 

15 and operation of a tolling company, and may lease 

16 icebreakers, and enlist and return assets; 

17 (13) shall be credited with amounts received 

18 from any of the activities authorized under para19 graphs (10) and (11); 

20 (14) shall publish charts of locations of places 

21 of refuge to be made readily available to all vessel 

22 voyaging north of the Bering Straight in the interest 

23 of ensuring vessel safety; and 

24 (15) shall carry out other functions considered 

25 relevant by the Secretary of Transportation, in conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1177.IS S1177

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1 junction with the Secretary of the Department in 

2 which the Coast Guard is operating, the Secretary of 

3 Defense acting through the Secretary of the Army, 

4 and the Secretary of State. 

5 SEC. 8. BONDS; ISSUANCE; MATURITY; REDEMPTION; IN6 TEREST; PURCHASE OF OBLIGATIONS BY THE 

7 SECRETARY OF TREASURY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—To finance its activities, the Cor9 poration may issue revenue bonds payable from corporate 

10 revenue to the Secretary of the Treasury. 

11 (b) TOTAL VALUE.—The total value of all bonds 

12 issued as described in subsection (a) shall not exceed a 

13 sum that shall be determined by the Secretary of Trans14 portation in conjunction with the Secretary of the Treas15 ury. 

16 (c) MATURITY DATES.—Bonds issued as described in 

17 subsection (a) shall have maturity dates agreed upon by 

18 the Corporation and the Secretary of the Treasury that 

19 shall not be in excess of 50 years. The obligations on such 

20 bonds may be redeemable at the option of the Corporation 

21 before the maturity in such a manner as may be stipulated 

22 in such obligations, but the obligations thus redeemed 

23 shall not be refinanced by the Corporation. 

24 (d) COORDINATION WITH TITLE 31.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORITY TO USE PROCEEDS FROM SALE

2 OF TREASURY SECURITIES.—For the purpose of pur3 chasing obligations of the Corporation, the Secretary 

4 of the Treasury may use as a public debt transaction 

5 the proceeds from the sale by the Secretary of any 

6 securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United 

7 States Code, and the purposes for which securities 

8 may be issued under such chapter are extended to 

9 include such purchases. 

10 (2) TREATMENT OF TRANSACTIONS.—All pur11 chases and sales by the Secretary of the Treasury of 

12 obligations issued by the Corporation under this sec13 tion shall be treated as public debt transactions of 

14 the United States. 

15 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 outset of corporate activities of the Corporation, the Cor18 poration shall submit a special report to Congress regard19 ing its general operations. 

20 (b) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.— 

21 (1) NEW PROPOSALS.—In addition to the re22 port described in subsection (a), the Corporation 

23 shall submit to Congress a special report whenever 

24 there is proposed a new feature, facility, design, or 

25 phase of the Corporation involving an estimated 


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1 value exceeding $1,000,000, that shall include jus2 tification for the new feature, facility, design, or 

3 phase. 

4 (2) PROGRESS REPORTS.—The Corporation 

5 shall submit reports upon the request of the Board 

6 of Directors, the President, or Congress regarding 

7 progress of the Corporation, including financial re8 ports regarding expenses or revenues, extreme 

9 weather patterns in the Arctic region, or reports as 

10 determined necessary by Congress. Such reports 

11 shall be submitted not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of the initial request. 

13 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTS.—The 

14 Board of Directors may direct the Corporation to 

15 compile detailed reports regarding the environmental 

16 impact of increased marine shipping within the Arc17 tic region. Such reports shall be submitted not later 

18 than 180 days after the date of the initial request 

19 from the Board of Directors. 

20 SEC. 10. THE ROLE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE IN FA21 CILITATING INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT. 

22 (a) PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.— 

23 The Secretary of State shall undertake a leadership role 

24 in engaging in multilateral dialogues with member and ob25 server nations of the Arctic Council with the intention of 


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1 encouraging cooperation in providing coordinated services 

2 for shipping in the Arctic Ocean and its approaches. The 

3 Corporation shall encourage cooperative and collaborative 

4 relationships with the member and observer nations of the 

5 Arctic Council in order to establish fair and reasonable 

6 tolls and, where applicable, joint facilities, as described in 

7 section 7. 

8 (b) INTERNATIONAL FEES AND TOLLS.—The Cor9 poration is hereby authorized and instructed to waive fees 

10 and tolls as necessary for international cooperation. 

Æ 


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