Arctic experts say UN sea treaty could benefit US
Date: 13-Feb-03
Country: USA
Author: Yareth Rosen
The U.S. Arctic Research Commission is urging prompt U.S. ratification of the treaty and quick action to survey the edges of the nation's continental shelf.
The treaty stipulates that nations may submit claims for additional marine territory within 10 years of signing onto the document, Arctic Research Commission Chairman George Newton told an Anchorage civic group.
Of interest to the United States is the "Chukchi Cap," a huge submerged shelf of land that extends far beyond the 200-mile (320 km) offshore territorial limit.
The shelf is a remnant of the Bering Land Bridge that once linked what is now Alaska to Siberia; it holds enormous potential for oil and gas resources, Newton told the board of Commonwealth North.
"I know that technology at this point in time doesn't allow oil recovery, fossil fuel recovery, in areas that are 300 to 500 miles (480 to 800 km) offshore in the Arctic Ocean," he said. But that technology could improve in the future, making Arctic Ocean resources recoverable "in the years ahead for our children and grandchildren."
Russia, which has signed onto the convention, has made wide-ranging claims to the Arctic Ocean, he said.
The United States generally follows the Law of the Sea convention, but has never signed the treaty, Newton said. U.S. ratification was bitterly opposed by former Sen. Jesse Helms, he said, but the once-powerful North Carolina Republican is now retired from office.
The commission, established by a 1984 act of Congress, advises the federal government on Arctic science issues.