Icebreakers NEG Supplement
Off-Case
Spending Link
Ice Breakers cost too much—Commercial leasing solves
Exton 14 [Tim Exton, January 6, 2014, “U.S. icebreakers concerned
insufficient“,http://english.cntv.cn/program/general_news/20140106/101750.shtml] JMov
As the Chinese and Russian ships trapped in Antarctic ice are trying to break free, the US is concerned that its
capability of developing and protecting its commercial and strategic interests in the Arctic. Because
the country’s icebreaker fleet consists of just two vessels.¶ As the stranded Australian researchers were plucked to safety
from the Antarctic ice, the captain of one of the United States' two ocean-going icebreakers imagined himself aboard
the Russian vessel as it became stuck in the ice.¶ "I just kind of wonder what the conditions are, what exactly. I see
the reports about the big fast ice that broke off and the winds and the storm that blew through and I just wondered how it
all played out to get them in that situation," John Reeves, captain of USCGC Healy, says.¶ It's a situation that could soon
become a greater threat for the United States' Seattle-based icebreaker fleet.¶ Melting polar ice means that more ships are
navigating the Northwest Passage from the Far East to Europe. Meanwhile nations such as Russia are increasing their oil
and gas exploration, leading to conflict with environmentalists. It's a situation that concerns Arctic observers. ¶ "This
increased human activity in the Arctic region, which is unprecedented, is stirring up a lot of questions about security in the
region, human security," Mihaela David from Arctic Institute says.¶ The growing importance of the region was
demonstrated last year by the U.S. publication of a National Strategy for the Arctic Region. ¶ But the current U.S.
icebreaker fleet consists of just one heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, and one medium icebreaker, the Healy, primarily a
scientific research support vessel.¶ "These two icebreakers are being operated by the Coast Guard and
they are, as of now, considered insufficient," Mihaela says.¶ The Polar Star's sister ship, the Polar Sea,
currently sits idle in Seattle while politicians decide whether to reactivate it or spend a billion
dollars building a replacement. For some there is another solution.¶ "What we have proposed here in the
foundation is that we look to commercial leasing of heavy icebreakers ," Brian Slattery, research assistant
at Heritage Foundation, says.¶ While politicians decide what to do, the U.S. Coast Guard goes about its icebreaking duties
as normal but is the service capable of protecting U.S. interests in the Arctic of tomorrow¶ "It depends on what those
interests really are and that's kind of being defined right now. The Healy and Polar Star are both operational and capable
depending upon what particular assignments they want us to go do," Reeves says.¶ Answers to that question are becoming
ever more urgent.¶ As nations scramble to develop and protect their commercial and strategic interests in the Arctic,
almost all agree that the United States has fallen behind other countries, particularly as far as its icebreaker fleet is
concerned. The question remains, what will be done about that situation. ¶
Icebreakers could easily top 1.5 billion
Revkin 8
Andrew, After nearly 15 years reporting for The New York Times, Andrew C. Revkin left the staff at the
end of 2009 to become a senior fellow at Pace University's Pace Academy for Applied Environmental
Studies, NYT, August 16, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/world/europe/17arctic.html
The cost of building icebreakers and keeping the older vessels operating until the new ones have been
launched could easily top $1.5 billion, according to several estimates. Arguments for new ships include the
strategic, like maintaining a four-seasons ability to patrol northern waters, and the practical, like being able
to quickly reach a disabled cruise ship or an oil spill in ice-clogged waters, Admiral Allen said.
Politics Link
Funding For the Plan is unpopular and costs PC
Alaska Dispatch News, July 29, 2014 “AK Beat: Anchorage police say driver in fatal Seward Highway
crash was intoxicated” ‘http://www.adn.com/article/20140729/ak-beat-congress-skeptical-coast-guardspolar-icebreaker-plans//ghs-gk’
Coast Guard icebreaker plans get skeptical audience in Congress: How important is the Arctic to the U.S. Coast Guard?
Some Republican lawmakers expressed their doubts in a House subcommittee meeting last week, reports naval
publication Seapower Magazine. The remarks came as the lawmakers considered appropriating funds for research into building a new
icebreaker. The U.S. currently has three polar icebreakers, two of which are active, the magazine reported. “ Chairman Rep.
Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said a lot of people within the Coast Guard are talking about the high priority of
the Arctic, but no one is allotting any money toward it,” Seapower reported. “Hunter also said several times throughout
the hearing that this could be the last one he schedules on the Arctic because he does not believe the Coast Guard wants an
icebreaker.” Alaska’s lone representative, Republican Don Young, asked the Coast Guard to consider leasing
icebreaker, since the current Congress was unlikely to appropriate funds to build one, according to the
report.
an
On-Case
Polar Presence High
US polar fleet presence high now
NBC News 14
“US icebreaker Polar Star to help Chinese, Russian ships stuck in Antarctic ice”, Jan 14 2014, NBC News,
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/04/22180695-us-icebreaker-polar-star-to-help-chineserussian-ships-stuck-in-antarctic-ice”
The United States is sending a heavy icebreaker to help free a Russian ship and a Chinese icebreaker
gripped by Antarctic ice, the Coast Guard said on Saturday.
The Polar Star is responding to a request for assistance from Australian authorities as well as from the
Russian and Chinese governments, it said in a statement.
"The U.S. Coast Guard stands ready to respond to Australia's request," Coast Guard Pacific Area
Commander Vice Admiral Paul Zukunft said. "Our highest priority is safety of life at sea, which is why we
are assisting in breaking a navigational path for both of these vessels."
A Chinese icebreaker that helped rescue 52 passengers from a Russian ship stranded in Antarctic ice found
itself stuck in heavy ice on Friday.
The Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, ferried the passengers from the stranded Russian ship to an Australian
icebreaker late on Thursday. It now had concerns about its own ability to move through heavy ice, the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.
The Russian-owned research ship left New Zealand on Nov. 28 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of
an Antarctic journey led by Australian explorer Douglas Mawson.
It became trapped on Christmas Eve, 100 nautical miles east of French Antarctic station Dumont d'Urville
and about 1,500 nautical miles south of Tasmania.
US presence strong – Truman’s proclamation proves
Cohen, Szaszdi, and Dolbow 8
“The New Cold War: Reviving the U.S. Presence in the Arctic”, Arial Cohen PhD, Lajos Szaszdi PhD, Jim
Dolbow, Cohen joined Heritage in 1992 and is now a Senior Research Fellow. He earned his doctorate at
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. He has served as a
consultant to both the executive branch and the private sector on policy toward Russia, Eastern and Central
Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Cohen is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations,
International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, and Association for the Study of Nationalities. Lajos
F. Szaszdi, Ph.D., is a former Researcher in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy
Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The
Heritage Foundation. Jim Dolbow is the legislative Director & Military Legislative Assistant at U.S. House
of Representatives and the Lead Defense Analyst at General Dynamics AIS.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/10/the-new-cold-war-reviving-the-us-presence-in-the-arctic
The U.S. relies on its sovereign power and diplomacy when pursuing territorial claims in the Arctic. The
United States is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) and
therefore is not bound by any procedures and determinations concluded through LOST instruments.
Instead, the U.S. is pursuing its claims "as an independent, sovereign nation," relying in part on Harry S.
Truman's Presidential Proclamation No. 2667, which declares that any hydrocarbon or other resources
discovered beneath the U.S. continental shelf are the property of the United States.[25] The U.S. can defend
its rights and claims through bilateral negotiations and in the multilateral venues such as through the Arctic
Ocean Conference in May 2008, which met in Ilulissat, Greenland.
Many have argued, including the Bush Administration, that the U.S. will not have leverage or a "seat at the
table" to pursue or defend its Arctic claims on condition that the U.S. is not a party to LOST. However,
U.S. attendance at the conference in Ilulissat significantly weakened this argument. Even though the U.S. is
not a LOST party, other Arctic nations "are unable to assert credible claims on U.S. territory in the Arctic
or anywhere else in the world" because President Truman already secured U.S. rights to Arctic resources
with his proclamation.[26]
Shipbuilding High
US shipbuilding strong
Arnsdorf 13
“ U.S. Shipbuilding Is Highest in Almost 20 Years on Shale Energy”, Isaac Arnsdorf is a reporter for
Bloomberg News in New York, Bloomberg News, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-18/u-sshipbuilding-is-highest-in-almost-20-years-on-shale-energy.html
U.S. shipyards are the busiest in almost two decades as surging domestic energy production increases
cargoes for the merchant fleet, according to the Department of Transportation.
Fifteen tanker and container ships are on order or under construction in the U.S., with options for “many
more,” Paul Jaenichen, acting maritime administrator at the department, said at the TradeWinds Jones Act
Shipping Forum in New York. That’s the biggest boom in almost 20 years, he said.
US shipbuilding stronger due to shale energy
FT 13
“Shale oil boom revives US shipyards”, The latest news in international business, finance, economic and
political news, comment and analysis from the Financial Times on FT.com, June 13
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1ea3872a-de74-11e2-b990-00144feab7de.html#axzz394MgUOZU
Mr Rokke tells the crowd – far bigger than it would have been just 18 months ago – that a big new
expected order and strong interest in further contracts after that have transformed the yard from “surviving”
to “thriving”. Behind them, the parts of one of two crude oil tankers being built for ExxonMobil, the oil
major, are taking shape in one of the yard’s graving docks.
The ExxonMobil vessels, four expected oil product tanker orders and two vessels that Aker Philadelphia
sold earlier this year all testify to how the US’s oil production boom has transformed its once-moribund
commercial shipbuilding industry.
The boom has produced a similarly positive effect on the Californian coast, where General Dynamics’
Nassco, the only other big US shipyard with a strong record of building oil tankers, announced on May 31
that it had won its own order for four oil product tankers.
The vessels are being built in the US to comply with the Jones Act, which requires any vessel operating
between two US ports to be built in a US shipyard, fly the US flag and employ a US crew. The US
industry’s revival comes as many shipyards elsewhere are struggling because of a worldwide oversupply of
ships.
Shale proves that shipbuilding strong
Chiaramonte 13
Perry, Reporter at Fox News Channel, “Boom in energy production sends US shipyards into overdrive”,
Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/20/boom-in-natural-gas-production-sends-us-shipyardsinto-overdrive/
The Great American Energy Boom is having a major ripple effect on the shipbuilding industry, which
thanks to a 1920s maritime law, is busier than it has been in decades.
Some ten supertankers are currently under construction at U.S. shipyards, with orders for another 15 in the
pipeline. That may not seem like a huge number, but considering there are only about 75 such tankers
plying American ports now, it represents a genuine boat-building boom.
“We haven’t seen something like this since the 1970s,” Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders
Council of America said to FoxNews.com. “The movement of more oil has built up a real commercial
shipbuilding renaissance.”
The renaissance comes despite an economy that continues to struggle. It's because of a specific sector of the
U.S. economy that is also booming: natural gas production. The fuel must be transported, even within the
country, either by rail, pipeline or ship. And if it is by ship, the ship must be American-made and
American-manned, according to the 1920s Merchant Marine Act, also known as the Jones Act.
Paxton said that it is projected that up to 3.3 million barrels will be shipped out daily from the Gulf Coast
by 2020, destined for ports along the east and west coasts, causing huge demand for tanker ships.
China = Diversifying
Energy diversification coming now – BP deal proves
NGV China 7/22
“BP signs 20-year deal to supply LNG to China’s CNOOC”, NGV China, 7/22/14,
http://www.ngvchinaqifa.com/news-media/industry-news/77.html
BP and the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) announced a heads of agreement for the supply of
up to 1.5 million tpy of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over 20 years starting in 2019.¶ The agreement was
signed in London by BP's executive vice president Dev Sanyal and CNOOC chairman Wang Yilin, in the
presence of UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. ¶ “This is a significant
deal for BP and China but it also marks a step up in global connectivity in the gas market," said Bob
Dudley, CEO of BP. "This is important for all countries and regions looking at the diversity of energy
supply and energy security - it gives BP greater flexibility to respond to the changing energy demands from
Europe, Asia and other regions.¶ A full commercial contract is expected to be agreed in mid-2014. BP says
it would expect to supply LNG from its global portfolio, using its own LNG tanker fleet and chartered ships
delivering gas to a number of terminals in China. ¶ “We are pleased to support China’s commitment to
improving its air quality," said Dudley. "This agreement is the first long-term LNG supply deal wih China
where BP is the sole supplier and it should play a crucial role in enhancing China’s energy diversification
and supporting its economic growth.”
Landslides Alt Cause
Landslides destroy the marine environment and impact a wide range of the shore
Locat and Lee 2000 (J. LOCAT, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Laval University, Québec,
Canada and H. J. LEE, United States Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, U.S.A. Researched and experimented
to understand submarine landslides. June 2000. “Submarine Landslides: Advances and Challenges.” Landlides
Research at l'Université Laval. http://www.landslides.ggl.ulaval.ca/saguenay/publi/locatleeul.pdf.)
Due to the recent development of well-integrated surveying techniques of the sea-floor, significant
improvements were
achieved in mapping and describing the morphology of submarine mass movements. Except for the
occurrence of turbidity currents, the aquatic environment (marine and fresh water) experiences the same
type of mass failure as found on land. Submarine mass movements however, can have run out distances in
excess of 100 km so that their impact on any offshore activity needs to be integrated over a wide area. This
great mobility of submarine mass movements is still not very well understood, in particular for cases like the far reaching debris flows
mapped on the Mississippi Fan and the large submarine rock avalanches found around many volcanic islands . A major challenge
ahead is the integration of mass movement mechanics in an appropriate evaluation of the hazard so that proper risk assessment
methodologies can be developed and implemented for various human activities offshore, including the development of natural
resources and establishment of reliable communication corridors.
Landslides cause devastating tsunamis- Empirics prove, like in Japan
Peel 13 (Alex Peel is a science writer and Press Officer for the Natural Environment Research Council. December 17, 2013. “Japan
tsunami exacerbated by landslide” Planet Earth Online NERC. http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1570.)
Until now, the lethal waves have been blamed solely on the magnitude-nine earthquake which struck at sea, 43 miles east of the
country's northern Tohoku peninsula. But an international team, led by Professor Dave Tappin of NERC's British Geological Survey,
say the earthquake can't explain the full extent of the waves. 'The earthquake alone cannot explain the height
of the waves along the Sanriku coast of northern Honshu Island,' says Tappin. 'They were generated by a
submarine landslide.' According to Tappin, the research raises a 'big problem' for early-warning systems. Where the risk of
landslides goes unrecognised, tsunamis generated by similar earthquakes could be badly underestimated.
It's well known that landslides can generate tsunamis on their own, and research on the Papua New Guinea
event of 1998 showed that landsides triggered by small earthquakes could also produce devastating
tsunamis. But this research, presented at last week's Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, is the first to recognise the
significant contribution that underwater landslides can make to tsunamis generated by giant quakes. 'We
identified a landslide that was 40 kilometres wide, 20 kilometres long and 2 kilometres thick' Prof Dave Tappin, British Geological
Survey 'With the Japan tsunami, for the first time we had offshore wave data recorded at GPS buoys,' says
Tappin. 'This allowed us to identify the most likely location of the landslide .' 'Using maps of the seabed, we
identified a landslide that was 40 kilometres wide, 20 kilometres long and 2 kilometres thick. That makes it 500 cubic kilometres, so
it's pretty big.' 'We then used computer models to simulate the tsunami from a dual source; the earthquake and the landslide, and this
gave us the high water levels along the north Honshu coast.' 'An additional check on the landslide source was from an analysis of the
wave frequency at the buoys, which showed a high-frequency component that could only be from the landslide.' Tappin says the
landslide also explains helicopter video footage of the tsunami which appears to show two separate wave trains, around 20-30 minutes
apart. The earthquake hit on the afternoon of March 11 2011. It was the most powerful ever known to have struck
Japan, and was strong enough to shift the Earth slightly on its axis. The sheer scale of the tsunami took
Japan by surprise. The Japanese Meteorological Agency had predicted a tsunami of just six metres. But when the waves arrived,
they reached heights of up to 12 metres, overtopping seawalls and sweeping away entire towns behind them. The Sanriku
coastline was particularly hard-hit. In Minamisanriku, a town of 17,000 people, over 95 per cent of the
buildings were destroyed, and more than 800 people lost their lives .
Spills Turn
Plan causes oil spills – uniquely different than oil spills in other areas
Harvey and Walker 13
Fiona Harvey is an award-winning environment journalist for the Guardian. Prior to this, she worked for
the Financial Times for more than a decade. Shaun Walker is Moscow Correspondent for the Guardian.
“Arctic oil spill is certain if drilling goes ahead, says top scientist”, TheGuardian,
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/arctic-oil-drilling-russia
A serious oil spill in the Arctic is a "dead cert" if drilling goes ahead, with potentially devastating
consequences for the pristine region, according to a leading marine scientist who played a key role in
analysis of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The warning came as Russia filed court orders this week to
have Greenpeace activists and journalists kept in prison for a further three months in prison before their
trial over a protest at Arctic oil dirlling. Concerns about the potentially dire consequences of drilling for oil
in the region have intensified as the Russian government and others have begun exploration under the
Arctic seas. In such a cold region, any spill would be much more troublesome, because the oil would not
naturally disperse as it does in warmer waters, and because of the difficulty of mounting a clean-up
operation in hostile weather conditions. The "Arctic 30" – comprising 28 activists and two journalists –
were arrested when Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise vessel was boarded by Russian coastguards in September
and are facing lengthy jail terms if they are convicted. They have been kept in harsh conditions in freezing
cold jail cells with poor food, and are being moved 800 miles from Murmansk to St Petersburg. Simon
Boxall, an oil spill expert from the University of Southampton, told the Guardian exploring the region was
inherently dangerous: "It is inevitable you will get a spill – a dead cert. I would expect to see a major spill
in the not too distant future. I would be astonished if you did not see a major spill from this." The
conditions in the Arctic would vastly compound the problem, he said. "It's a completely different
environment. In temperate climes, oil disperses quickly. Bacteria help [to digest the oil]. In the Arctic the
oil does not break down in this way – it can take decades before it breaks down. Nature will not help us."
Methane Hydrate Turn
Turn: Methane Hydrate extraction significantly increases global warming- extraction increases risk of
greenhouse gas release.
Lefebvre 13 (Ben Lefebvre was a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, covering the energy industry and general news. He is also a
reporter at ICIS, where he covered petrochemical and biofuel markets and corporate news. July 28, 2013. “Critics Warn of
Environmental Hazards in Extracting Methane Hydrate.” The Wall Street Journal.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323664204578610370550437906.)
Tapping methane hydrate for natural gas might have a positive impact on global energy production, but
critics say the potential fuel source could have a negative impact on global warming. The trillions of cubic
feet of methane hydrates contained in the ocean's floor are in geologically unstable areas. The fear: One
wrong move and an undersea landslide in the muddy sediment containing the methane hydrates could send
massive amounts of a particularly potent greenhouse gas to the ocean's surface and into the atmosphere .
"Adding more methane to the atmosphere is a really bad idea," said Kert Davies, research director at Greenpeace, which is known for its use of direct
action as well as lobbying and research to sway public opinion on issues including global warming and commercial whaling. Although methane remains
in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon dioxide, "pound for pound, the comparative impact of methane on climate change is over 20 times
greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period," according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Japan, the country making the most
aggressive push into methane-hydrate development, will concentrate its efforts on relatively flat stretches of the seafloor off its coast. That will minimize
the chances of a landslide, according to the Research Consortium for Methane Hydrate Resources in Japan, a group with representatives from government
agencies, universities and businesses. Natural gas is being touted as a bridge fuel to replace oil and coal while strides are made in wind and solar energy,
but backers of switching to renewable resources say successful development of methane hydrate could prolong dependence on carbon-based fuels.
"Hydrates,
when and if they ever turn out to be commercially extractable, will be just one more excuse to
fiddle while Rome burns," said Richard Charter, senior researcher at the Ocean Foundation, a conservation
group.
Methane Hydrate extraction increases warming and causes massive tsunamis because of underwater
landslides.
Harris 9 (William Harris is a writer stationed near Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor's degree in
biology from Virginia Tech and a master's degree in science education from Florida State University. May
26, 2009. “How Frozen Fuel Works: The Risky Business of Mining Methane Hydrate.” Science How Stuff
Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/energy-production/frozen-fuel4.htm.)
The potential rewards of releasing methane from gas hydrate fields must be balanced with the risks. And the risks are significant. Let's start first
with challenges facing mining companies and their workers. Most methane hydrate deposits are located in
seafloor sediments. That means drilling rigs must be able to reach down through more than 1,600 feet (500 meters) of water and then, because
hydrates are generally located far underground, another several thousand feet before they can begin extraction. Hydrates also tend to form along the lower
The roughly sloping seafloor
makes it difficult to run pipeline. Even if you can situate a rig safely, methane hydrate is unstable once it's removed
from the high pressures and low temperatures of the deep sea. Methane begins to escape even as it's being
transported to the surface. Unless there's a way to prevent this leakage of natural gas, extraction won't be efficient. It will be a bit
margins of continental slopes, where the seabed falls away from the relatively shallow shelf toward the abyss.
like hauling up well water using a pail riddled with holes. Believe it or not, this leakage may be the least of the worries. Many geologists suspect that
gas hydrates play an important role in stabilizing the seafloor. Drilling in these oceanic deposits could
destabilize the seabed, causing vast swaths of sediment to slide for miles down the continental slope . Evidence
suggests that such underwater landslides have occurred in the past (see sidebar), with devastating
consequences. The movement of so much sediment would certainly trigger massive tsunamis similar to
those seen in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 . But perhaps the biggest concern is how methane hydrate mining
could affect global warming. Scientists already know that hydrate deposits naturally release small amounts of
methane. The gas works itself skyward -- either bubbling up through permafrost or ocean water -- until it's
released into the atmosphere. Once methane is in the atmosphere, it becomes a greenhouse gas even more
efficient than carbon dioxide at trapping solar radiation. Some experts fear that drilling in hydrate deposits could
cause catastrophic releases of methane that would greatly accelerate global warming.