History and geographical characteristics of Northern Sea Route and legal regime.

Includes a description and history of exploration of the Northwest Passage, projection of future commercial use, analysis of the past and present legal status of the Passage and a discussion of the main policy implications of future use.

Relates the attempts since 1553 of men from various nations to navigate the dangerous Northeast Passage through the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean.

The most comprehensive and richest study undertaken so far of the factors and conditions that will determine the scope and range of shipping and shipping activities in Arctic waters now and in the future. Furthermore, it is the first study comparing the three Arctic transportation corridors, covering a variety of interacting and interdependent factors such as: - geopolitics, military affairs, global warming, sea ice melting, international economic trends, resources, competing modes of transportation, environmental challenges, logistics, ocean law and regulations, corporate governance, jurisdictional matters and rights of indigenous peoples, arctic cruise tourism and marine insurance.

The only guide to Siberian Arctic seas - a serious challenge to the navigator; powerful icebreakers have opened the way to the Northeast Passage, a region home to a world-beating range of superb animals, birds and flora. The islands are largely unexplored and scenically magnificent, a magnet for expedition vessels and adventurous tourists.

This volume is the first study of the entire history of the Northern Sea Route, from its earliest exploration to the twenty-first century. It includes the West-European search for a new waterway to the Orient (sixteenth to seventeenth century), the Russian Kamchatka expeditions (eighteenth century), and the navigation from Europe to the major rivers in north-west Siberia (late nineteenth to early twentieth century), as well as the Russian utilisation of the sea route in the Soviet epoch and later.