The Northwest Passage​—A Dream Come True?

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN FINLAND

GLOBAL WARMING is usually associated with negative effects. However, it may help to fulfill one of the fondest dreams of mariners​—an easily navigable opening of the Northwest Passage. This link between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans across the top of the North American continent could be open for regular sea traffic this century, according to Science magazine. “That would cut [6,800 miles] [11,000 kilometers] off the Europe-to-Asia route through the Panama Canal and [12,000 miles] [19,000 kilometers] off the trip around Cape Horn for supertankers unable to squeeze through the canal,” explains Science.

Such a passage was envisioned over 500 years ago. Early attempts to find a northern passage were made soon after Christopher Columbus discovered America. In 1497, King Henry VII of England commissioned John Cabot to find a sea route to the Orient. Like Columbus, Cabot sailed west from Europe, but he headed more to the north. When Cabot landed, possibly on Newfoundland in North America, he was sure that he had reached Asia. Even though it was later understood that there was a whole New World lying between Europe and Asia, the idea of a northern passage to the Orient was not forgotten. Could this newly found continent be circumnavigated to the north?

Frozen Barrier

In theory, finding and crossing the Northwest Passage may have seemed simple. In practice, however, the harsh conditions of the Arctic zone made the task harder than probably anyone at that time could have imagined. The biggest obstacle was the ice. “Shifting, drifting, it parted to let ships through, then closed like a trap, imprisoning ships and crews, or crushing them,” writes James P. Delgado in his book Across the Top of the World.

Sir Martin Frobisher, who led the first expedition that went north of the North American mainland to search for the Northwest Passage through the Arctic, was confronted with ice. A fleet of two ships and a boat left London in 1576. Frobisher also encountered Inuit, natives of the Arctic. At first, he thought that they were seals or fishes, “but coming nearer, he discovered them to be men in small boates made of leather,” relates a book about Frobisher’s journey. In all, Frobisher made three journeys to the Arctic, but none of them led to establishing the Northwest Passage. Frobisher was, however, fortunate in that he returned home from all his Arctic expeditions unscathed. The same cannot be said of other  explorers who searched for the fabled passage. For many, the Arctic​—the ice, the cold, the lack of fresh food—​was too much. Still, during the years after Frobisher, dozens of ships and thousands of men headed north, trying to make their way through the ice.

Where Is Franklin?

In the 19th century, the British Navy organized several massive expeditions to search for the Northwest Passage. One of these led to the biggest disaster in the history of Arctic voyages. Sir John Franklin, an experienced Arctic explorer, was chosen to lead the expedition. Steam engines were installed in two large vessels. Both ships were manned by the most qualified men in the navy and equipped with enough provisions for three years. In addition, much attention was given to the emotional welfare of the crew. For example, the ships carried comprehensive libraries, and even hand organs were part of the equipment. An officer who joined the expedition wrote: “There is scarcely anything that would be of use that has been neglected and I really do not think that, if I could be in London for an hour or two, I would want to get anything!” The expedition set out from England in May 1845, and in July it reached Baffin Bay.

A year went by. And another. Finally, the three years they had prepared for as a worst-case scenario were spent, but nothing was heard about Franklin’s expedition. The mysterious disappearance of the two ships and their crews caused a surge of Arctic voyages. Dozens of expeditions shed light not only on the fate of Franklin’s expedition but also on the mystery of the Northwest Passage.

Captain Robert McClure was a commander in one of two ships that were sent to search for Franklin. Leaving London in 1850, the ships approached the northern coast of America from the Pacific through the Bering Strait. Ambitious McClure left one ship behind and moved determinedly toward the Arctic Ocean. Soon he was sailing in waters where no European had been before. Taking many risks, he finally arrived at the coast of Banks Island, where he made an exciting observation. The island was the very one that Edward Parry had sighted years earlier when searching for the Northwest Passage from the east. If McClure could sail to the other side of the island, he would complete the Northwest Passage!

But the ice imprisoned his ship. Two years later, McClure and his men were still stuck in the ice. When it seemed that all hope was gone, however, on the horizon they saw men coming toward the ship. It was like a miracle. Henry Kellett, a captain on a separate expedition, had found a message left by McClure on Melville Island and was able to send men to the rescue. McClure’s men, who were half dead by now, were taken to Kellett’s ship, in which they sailed home​—by the eastern route. Why, Kellett had come to the northern coast of America from the Atlantic! McClure “was thus the first to make the Northwest Passage, though in more than one ship and partly on foot,” says The New Encyclopædia Britannica.

But what had happened to Franklin’s expedition? Various clues give some information regarding the events after 1845. Both ships of the expedition became stuck in the ice in Victoria Strait. By the time the ships had been imprisoned in the ice for 18 months, several men, including Franklin himself, were dead. Those remaining decided to abandon the ships and head south on foot, but the men, already weakened, died on the way. No one in the crew survived. The fate of the expedition remains a  subject for speculation. Even lead poisoning from tin cans has been mentioned as a cause for the rapid death of the men.

First Breakthrough

While the existence of the Northwest Passage had already been proved, it was not navigated until the 20th century. Young Roald Amundsen led the group of seven Norwegians who made the journey. They used a puny fishing boat named Gjøa, completely different from imposing British warships. The tiny vessel of shallow draft proved, however, to be an ideal means of transportation in the Arctic Ocean, with its numerous narrow passages as well as rocks and shoals. On June 16, 1903, Amundsen and his crew started the long journey from Oslo to the North American Arctic by the eastern route. Over two years later, on August 27, 1905, the crew on board the Gjøa observed a whaler that had come to the Arctic Ocean by the western route, through the Bering Strait. Regarding the encounter, Amundsen wrote: “The Northwest Passage had been accomplished. My childhood dream​—this very moment it became a reality . . . I had tears in my eyes.”

However, so far it has not been possible to initiate regular traffic through the passage. Since Amundsen’s time, a number of vessels have navigated across the top of North America, but it is still not an easy trip. Yet, that might not be the case for long.

A Surprise Solution?

Arctic ice is now melting with surprising speed. Because of this, in the year 2000, a Canadian police ship was able to cross the Northwest Passage in about a month. When The New York Times interviewed the skipper, Sergeant Ken Burton, after the trip, he was concerned that they did not have problems with ice. “There were some bergs, but nothing we saw to cause any anxiety. We saw some ribbons of multiyear ice floes, all small and fragmented, and were able to steer around them,” Burton said. According to Science magazine, “the extent of Arctic ice has shrunk 5% in the past 20 years, its thickness is down, and climate models forecast continued shrinkage as global temperatures climb.” The article refers to a report released by the U.S. Arctic Research Commission that predicts that within a decade the Northwest Passage “could be open to vessels lacking reinforcement against the ice for at least a month in the summer.”

Ironically, “by simply staying home and burning billions of tons of fossil fuels,” the dream of humans that once inspired them to put forth enormous effort will now be realized, says Science magazine. Still, researchers are concerned about the effects of melting ice and regular sea traffic on polar bears, walrus, and native people in the Arctic. In addition, the passable Northwest Passage could lead to political conflicts. What else will the possible opening of the Northwest Passage mean? Time will tell.

 [Map on page 23]

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Martin Frobisher’s track 1578

John Franklin’s track 1845-48

Robert McClure’s track 1850-54

Roald Amundsen’s track 1903-5

(Dotted lines indicate inland journey)

North Pole

RUSSIA

ALASKA, U.S.A.

CANADA

GREENLAND

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John Cabot

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Culver Pictures

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Sir Martin Frobisher

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Painting by Cornelis Ketel/Dictionary of American Portraits/Dover Publications, Inc., in 1967

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Sir John Franklin

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National Archives of Canada/C-001352

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Robert McClure and his ship “Investigator” (below)

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National Archives of Canada/C-087256

National Archives of Canada/C-016105

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Roald Amundsen

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Brown Brothers

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The rise of global temperature is making frozen passages more accessible

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Kværner Masa-Yards

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From the book The Story of Liberty, 1878