Russia enlarges its Arctic claims right up to the borders of Greenland and Canada

Russia has formally enlarged its claim to the Arctic Oceans seabed through two new submissions to the UN Commission on the Limit of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS). Moscow now lays claim to the seabed beyond the North Pole itself, all the way to Canada and Greenland’s exclusive economic zones.

The claim comes after Russia last year sent ships tasked with mapping the seabed right up to the northernmost reaches of Greenland and Canada. The subsequent claim is based on the Lomonsov Ridge, an undersea mountain chain that runs from Russia, across the North Pole and on to Greenland and Canada. If Russia proves the chain is a “natural prolongation” of its land, then it can legally expand its sovereign control over the resources on or below the seabed in that area. However, Greenland and Canada both claim the ridge is an extension of their own territories too.  

Russia has had growing success at the UN with its Arctic claims, and if UNCLCS eventually finds fully in its favour, it would give it a significant degree of control over potential Arctic sea-bed resources such as oil and minerals. More importantly for ongoing tensions is that while continental shelf claims do not come with rights to control shipping outright, a state can regulate traffic to protect its seabed resources. This is where an increase in regional tension is likely given the existing controversy surrounding Russia’s attempts to regulate traffic on the Northern Sea Route using similar methods.