Tromsø Cooperation 66° North gathers stakeholders from Arctic coastal states, UK, Japan, and Austria
350 km above the Arctic Circle, in Tromsø, Norway, industry, government, and academic leaders met for Cooperation 66° North. The forum, designed to foster communication, build confidence, and transfer knowledge on Arctic maritime and offshore affairs was co-supported by the Norwegian Barents Secretariat and the US Embassy Oslo, the event organizer Tactique said in a press release.
It was hosted partly by UiT- the Arctic University of Norway’s K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, and partly aboard Hurtigruten’s MS Trollfjord, one of the company’s flagship Arctic-going coastal steamers. INTSOK – Norwegian Oil and Gas Partners – was a supporting stakeholder, along with IAA Port News.
The forum included presentations from leading academics, industry practitioners and solutions providers, as well as working-group sessions on both maritime-offshore industries and political-security affairs. Of course, social activities and networking opportunities were enjoyed by all.
Presentations from BarentsWatch, SARiNOR, and NORUT focused on emerging technologies to aid in safe and compliant Arctic operations as well as enhance Search and Rescue capabilities in the High North. Representatives from INTSOK, Tactique, and the Arctic Security Initiative of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution presented on Arctic offshore and security challenges and legal regimes.
Aboard the MS Trollfjord, participants heard a presentation about Hurtigruten’s long history of Arctic operations, focusing on the company’s expertise in Arctic passenger shipping. They received a ship-visit and discussion with the Captain, concluding the day with a seminar series on safety, legal, and insurance considerations for Northern Sea Route shipping taught by experts from the University Centre Svalbard, UiT, and NORUT.
Program co-organizers Simon Williams and Natalia Ergina indicated the engagement as a success. “We are pleased with the high caliber of the program delegates, their involvement in the subject matter and the successful cross-border, multinational cooperation spawned. This embodies the intended spirit of the engagement, and surpassed program objectives.”
Participants came from all Arctic coastal states plus the UK, Japan, and Austria. This engagement was the first in a series of the organizers’ projects designed to enhance competence in maritime operations and knowledge while reinforcing multinational cooperation in the High North.
Tactique Ltd. provides consulting services in the maritime and security cooperation fields. We design and deliver confidence and security building measures (CSBMs); programs which enhance joint-multinational cooperation by fusing public and private sectors in regions of heightened tension, such as the Arctic, Middle East, Central Asia, Moldova, Ukraine, and parts of the Indo-Pacific region. The organization maintains ability to provide bespoke consulting solutions for maritime and security challenges, ready and able to leverage expertise in law, maritime security, strategic planning, and threat assessment to undertake research and writing projects for private sector, government, think-tanks, media, academia, NGOs, and international/regional organizations.
A selection of Cooperation 66° North delegates (L to R): Ms. Anne Egeli (University of Stavanger; Safetec Norway), Cmdr. David Slayton (USN, Ret.; Stanford University, USA), Capt. Valentin Klivnoy (Gard AS, Norway), Ms. Natalia Ergina (Cooperation 66° North, Program Co-Organizer, Russia), Mr. Nikolai Melnikov (Belomorskiy Port, Russia), Mr. Simon Williams (Tactique Ltd; Cooperation 66° North, Program Co-Organizer, USA), Mr. Sergey Goncharov (Advisor, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Russia), Capt. Tsutomu Ueyama (K.Line Europe, Japan) aboard Hurtigruten’s MS Trollfjord Arctic-going coastal steamer. 9 May 2014, Tromsø, Norway. Photo Credit: Sara Lupini.