Ice melt creates trade route short cut, says First Sea Lord

THE Arctic trading route to Asia must “remain free”, the First Sea Lord has said as he declares it offers an “incredible economic opportunity” for the UK.

Marking 50 years since a British submarine surfaced at the North Pole, Admiral Tony Radakin said the emerging northern sea route will halve the time from Asia to Europe by sea.

Melting ice sheets have opened up Arctic shipping routes. The northern route has been likened to the Suez Canal, although unpredictable ice conditions and high insurance fees persist.

Admiral Radakin said: “It is incumbent on us as the Royal Navy to ensure these waters remain free for global trade. In the last year we led a multinational task group into the Barents Sea for the first time in 20 years, demonstrating the will and capability to protect our interests.” The Admiral spoke as the Royal Navy remembers the moment HMS Dreadnought, a hunterkiller, broke through the North Pole ice.

“The submariners who undertook that mission were true pioneers, and the hard lessons they learned continue to inform our operations,” he said.

Robin Whiteside 84, from Durley, Hants, was second-in-command of Britain’s first nuclear-powered sub. He said they took fixes at Spitzbergen then headed north-west for 700 miles at 12 knots, 280-300ft down. Echo sounders showed the bottom of the ice – but not its thickness. Dreadnought arrived under the pole on March 3, 1971.

“A short blow into the main ballast tanks got us up through a foot of ice. We did try to make [radio] contact with the Flag Officer Submarines but all we got was a cab rank in Canada.”