Parts of the Vesterålen waters outside northern Norway remains not seismically mapped after fishermen did not allow a seismic vessel to operate in the area.

The idea of a university in the Canadian North is gaining more support as an increasing number of academics and those living in the region say that there is a strong need for a permanent university to be established in the region so students and researcher can have a dedicated place to study. Canada is the sole Arctic nation that doesn’t have a permanent university in the region. Canadian residents living in the north have to head to southern Canada if they want to continue their studies past high school.

Three vessels from the German Beluga Group will this summer sail the Northern Sea Route from East to West. This is the first time since WWII that vessels under foreign flag travel this Arctic route.

Norway has moved the headquarters of its Army from Oslo to the northern town of Bardufoss. The moving is part of a general strengthening of the country’s military capacities in the High North.

Canadian North West Territories’ Premier Floyd Roland told reporters last Friday that when the federal government unveiled its Northern Strategy, Ottawa showed just how little it understood the issues that plague the country’s Arctic region.

The company Hammerfest Energy is returning its 300 KW tidal power plant to the waters of Kvalsundet near Hammerfest, Arctic Norway.

In responding to Russia’s announcement that it plans to drop paratrooper in the Arctic this coming spring, Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay is very direct and to the point, announcing on Friday “We’re going to protect our sovereign territory.”