I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2865 

To ensure safe, secure, and reliable marine shipping in the Arctic including 

the availability of aids to navigation, vessel escorts, spill response capability, and maritime search and rescue in the Arctic, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2009 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To ensure safe, secure, and reliable marine shipping in the 

Arctic including the availability of aids to navigation, 

vessel escorts, spill response capability, and maritime 

search and rescue in the Arctic, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arctic Marine Shipping 

5 Assessment Implementation Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds and declares the 

8 following: 


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1 (1) The Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas are be2 coming increasingly accessible to shipping, due to 

3 thinning ice cover, technological improvements allow4 ing greater efficiencies in the operation of ice-break5 ers and ice-strengthened cargo and passenger ves6 sels, satellite support for navigation and real-time 

7 ice-charting, and growing demand for Arctic tourism 

8 and natural resources. 

9 (2) It is in the interests of the United States 

10 to work with the State of Alaska and our neighbors 

11 in the Arctic Region to ensure that shipping in the 

12 Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas is safe for mariners, 

13 protective of the natural environment, including the 

14 air, land, water, and wildlife of the Arctic, and 

15 mindful of the needs of longstanding subsistence 

16 users of Arctic resources. 

17 (3) It is further in the interests of the United 

18 States to ensure that shipping in the Arctic Ocean 

19 and adjacent seas is secure, and that United States 

20 sovereign and security interests, including the rights 

21 of United States vessels to innocent passage through 

22 international straits, are respected and protected, 

23 that access is provided throughout the Arctic Ocean 

24 for legitimate research vessels of all nations, and 


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1 that peaceful relations are maintained in the Arctic 

2 region. 

3 (4) It is further in the interests of the United 

4 States to see that a system of international coopera5 tion is established to support reliable shipping, with 

6 methods for joint investment in providing mariners 

7 aids to navigation, ports of refuge, vessel-to-shore 

8 communication, hydrographic mapping, and search 

9 and rescue capability. 

10 (5) For nearly 500 years, mariners and sea11 faring nations have sought national and global bene12 fits from sea routes in the Arctic similar to those 

13 provided now by the Panama and Suez canals, but 

14 as those benefits may finally be realized, expanded 

15 shipping will present risks to residents of the Arctic, 

16 and coordinated shipping regulations are needed to 

17 protect United States interests even from shipping 

18 that may occur in the Arctic region outside United 

19 States territorial waters. 

20 (6) Proven models for international cooperation 

21 in management of regional waterways exist, includ22 ing United States joint administration of the St. 

23 Lawrence Seaway with Canada, and existing co24 operation between the Coast Guard and its Russian 


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1 Federation counterpart for fisheries enforcement in 

2 the Bering Sea and North Pacific regions. 

3 (7) The United States has continuing research, 

4 security, environmental, and commercial interests in 

5 the Arctic region that rely on the availability of ice6 breaker platforms of the Coast Guard. The Polar 

7 Class icebreakers commissioned in the 1970s are in 

8 need of replacement. 

9 (8) Sovereign interests of the United States in 

10 the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea regions may grow 

11 with submission of a United States claim for an ex12 tended continental shelf. 

13 (9) Building new icebreakers, mustering inter14 national plans for aids to navigation and other facili15 ties, and establishing coordinated shipping regula16 tions and oil spill prevention and response capability 

17 through international cooperation, including the ap18 proval of the International Maritime Organization, 

19 requires long lead times. Beginning those efforts 

20 now, with the completion of an Arctic Marine Ship21 ping Assessment by the eight-nation Arctic Council, 

22 is essential to protect United States interests given 

23 the extensive current use of the Arctic Ocean and 

24 adjacent seas by vessels of many nations. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to ensure 

2 safe, secure, and reliable maritime shipping in the Arctic 

3 including the availability of aids to navigation, vessel es4 corts, spill response capability, and maritime search and 

5 rescue in the Arctic. 

6 SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION AGREE7 MENTS. 

8 To carry out the purpose of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

10 shall work through the International Maritime Organiza11 tion to establish agreements to promote coordinated action 

12 among the United States, Russia, Canada, Iceland, Nor13 way, and Denmark and other seafaring and Arctic nations 

14 to ensure, in the Arctic— 

15 (1) placement and maintenance of aids to navi16 gation; 

17 (2) appropriate icebreaking escort, tug, and sal18 vage capabilities; 

19 (3) oil spill prevention and response capability; 

20 (4) maritime domain awareness, including long21 range vessel tracking; and 

22 (5) search and rescue. 


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1 SEC. 4. COORDINATION BY COMMITTEE ON THE MARITIME 

2 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. 

3 The Committee on the Maritime Transportation Sys4 tem established under a directive of the President in the 

5 Ocean Action Plan, issued December 17, 2004, shall co6 ordinate the establishment of domestic transportation poli7 cies in the Arctic necessary to carry out the purpose of 

8 the Act. 

9 SEC. 5. AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS. 

10 The Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

11 Guard is operating may, subject to the availability of ap12 propriations, enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, 

13 or other agreements with, or make grants to individuals 

14 and governments to carry out the purpose of this Act or 

15 any agreements established under section 3. 

16 SEC. 6. ICEBREAKING. 

17 The Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

18 Guard is operating shall promote safe maritime navigation 

19 by means of icebreaking where needed to assure the rea20 sonable demands of commerce. 

21 SEC. 7. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

22 The Secretary of Transportation may enter into coop23 erative agreements, contracts, or other agreements with, 

24 or make grants to, individuals to conduct demonstration 

25 projects to reduce emissions or discharges from vessels op26 erating in the Arctic. 


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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

3 (1) to the Secretary of the department in which 

4 the Coast Guard is operating— 

5 (A) $750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2011 and 2012 for the construction of two 

7 polar capable icebreakers; 

8 (B) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

9 2011 through 2015 for seasonal operations in 

10 the Arctic; and 

11 (C) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

12 2012 through 2015 to carry out agreements es13 tablished under section 5; and 

14 (2) to the Secretary of Transportation 

15 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 

16 2015 to conduct demonstration projects under sec17 tion 7. 

18 SEC. 9. ARCTIC DEFINITION. 

19 In this Act the term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the same meaning 

20 as in section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act 

21 of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 

Æ 


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