This story is free to read.

Coast Guard studies shipping lanes for Bering Sea routes

FILE - This May 1, 1970 file photo shows inhabitants of Little Diomede, rolling petrol drums over the frozen surface of the Bering Strait near their island home in Diomede, Alaska. The U.S. Coast Guard has laid out a 4-mile wide route through the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean and is reviewing public comment on whether it should become the first commercial shipping lane along Alaska’s west coast. More Arctic sea ice melting each summer from global warming is making it easier for ships to plot routes through the environmentally sensitive Bering Strait. The rise in traffic is prompting concerns among U.S. Coast Guard officials about the potential dangers of a vessel crashing and leaking oil. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams, File) FILE - This May 1, 1970 file photo shows inhabitants of Little Diomede, rolling petrol drums over the frozen surface of the Bering Strait near their island home in Diomede, Alaska. The U.S. Coast Guard has laid out a 4-mile wide route through the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean and is reviewing public comment on whether it should become the first commercial shipping lane along Alaska’s west coast. More Arctic sea ice melting each summer from global warming is making it easier for ships to plot routes through the environmentally sensitive Bering Strait. The rise in traffic is prompting concerns among U.S. Coast Guard officials about the potential dangers of a vessel crashing and leaking oil. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams, File)

By Associated Press November 17, 2015 1 min read

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – More Arctic sea ice melting each summer from global warming is making it easier for ships to plot routes through the environmentally sensitive Bering Strait.

The rise in traffic is prompting concerns among U.S. Coast Guard officials about the potential dangers of a vessel crashing and leaking oil.

The Coast Guard is taking steps to plot a shipping route that will help the ships safely navigate the 53-mile wide waterway separating Russia and Alaska.

Among the vessels slated to pass through the strait is a cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 passengers on a 32-day voyage next year through the Northwest Passage.

The agency has laid out a 4-mile wide route through the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean that could become the area’s first official shipping lane.