Arctic route - cool idea with chilling concerns

IT MAY seem incongruous to be talking about shipping in the Arctic in the balmy climes of Singapore, but that was what the president of the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) did last week.

Esben Poulsson, speaking at an Arctic Frontiers organisation event in his capacity as SSA chief and as chair of the global shipowners organisation International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), identified three main areas of opportunity there for shipping:

Singapore may be in the tropics, but, as one of the world's largest maritime flag states, its shipowners would have an obvious interest in such business opportunities.