THE ARTIC OCEAN AND THE UNCLOS: LEGAL CHALLENGES IN THE HIGH NORTH

AUTHOR – V.SANKALP, STUDENT AT AMITY LAW SCHOOL, AMITY UNIVERSITY, MUMBAI

BEST CITATION – V.SANKALP, THE ARTIC OCEAN AND THE UNCLOS: LEGAL CHALLENGES IN THE HIGH NORTH, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (9) OF 2025, PG. 01-05, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

This article is published in the collaborated special issue of Amity Law School, Amity University, Mumbai and the Institute of Legal Education (ILE), titled “Emerging Trends in Law: Exploring Recent Developments and Reforms” (ISBN: 978-81-986345-1-1).

INTRODUCTION

WHO OWNS THE ARTIC?

American news outlets began to cover the issue of Arctic sovereignty in the summer of 2007.  A deep-sea submersible, paid for by the Russian government, sank 14,000 feet to plant a Russian titanium flag, one metre tall, on the 1,100-mile-long Lomonosov ridge.  Given the existing legal system for resolving Arctic border disputes, many saw Russia’s flag deployment as little more than a PR stunt.  Russia has maintained for over a decade that the Lomonosov ridge is part of its continental shelf and that it has authority over resource exploration and exploitation on the ridge, even if this act alone may not have been enough to form a valid territorial claim.  Two major oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell ($2.1 billion) and ConocoPhillips ($506 million), participated in a 2008 U.S. government lease auction for Alaskan waters in the Chukchi Sea.  Five Beaufort Sea licenses were acquired by BP Exploration Ltd. for $1.2 billion in the same year at a Canadian auction.  Despite delays to its plans in the Chukchi Sea due to the Obama administration’s decision to end offshore drilling following the Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, Royal Dutch Shell is currently requesting approval to drill in the Alaskan portion of the Beaufort Sea. Cruise lines and other operators are offering more trips to more places in the Arctic as the ice melts, which is leading to an increase in tourism to the region.  Even in the middle of summer, there are dangers to travelling in the Arctic.