The Artic Sea Route

In the ST today.

2030, that is not that far away. The approximate year when the Artic might be open to all commercial shipping around the year.

The red route is shorter by 2 weeks of sailing time compared to the black. It is a threat to Singapore port. When I was a kid, I remember the teacher talking about  the Thais desiring to build a canal through the Isthmus of Kra. That never materialized. Now the will to make the Artic route feasible is much stronger.

I imagine PSA and the government crunching numbers how this would affect Singapore. If global trade grows smartly, there might not be much problem. Basically we do not want to lose capacity even if we have to share the market.

It is vital that Indonesia with its substantial population develops into an economic magnet to draw traffic south, but who knows if that would happen.