36 Crew Infected on Hurtigruten Ship: Passengers Disembarked, Potentially Exposing Communities. Thirty-six crew members have tested positive for COVID-19 onboard Hurtigruten's MS Roald Amundsen, currently docked in Tromsø, Norway, according to a statement provided by line spokesperson Øystein Knoph. But the virus might not have been contained onboard. Potentially impacted passengers from two separate voyages had already disembarked a cruise on July 24 and the last cruise on Friday, leaving ample time for passengers to begin their voyages home and potentially spread the virus.  USA Today

Royal Canadian Navy Accepts Delivery of First Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship. The first-in-class ship is named in honor of Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf, a Canadian wartime naval hero. HMCS Harry DeWolf is the first ship built for the RCN under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. Through Canada's defense policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, the Government of Canada is equipping the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) with the modern and effective ships it needs to support expanded surveillance and defense activities across Canada's three coasts. Specifically designed to patrol Canada's offshore waters and northernmost regions, this new AOPS class of ship will be at the core of an enhanced Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Arctic presence, effectively complementing the capabilities of our other current and future warships through critical reconnaissance and surveillance activities. Naval News

 

'What Choice Do We Have?' Utqiagvik sits at the very tip of the United States, saddled against the Arctic Ocean. The Alaska Native Inupiat are set apart from other Indigenous peoples by their subsistence hunting of the bowhead whale. Even today, this unique, centuries-old practice determines the social structure, reflects community values and supplements the people's nutrient-rich diet. Nearly all of Utqiagvik's roughly 5,000 residents, the majority of whom are Inupiat, rely on hunting to support their way of life. Pulitzer Center

 

[Canada] COVID-19 Blamed as Work on Arctic Military Port First Promised in 2007 Sees New Delay. The construction of a new military refuelling station in the Arctic is facing yet another delay more than 13 years after it was first promised by the federal government. Stephen Harper, when he was prime minister, first announced plans to build the Nanisivik deep-water port in Nunavut, along with up to eight armed Arctic patrol vessels, in 2007. CBC News

 

EU Seeks Input to New Arctic Strategy, Asks NGOs and Indigenous Peoples to Contribute. Launched in 2008, and updated in 2016, EU's Arctic policy is not old but as changes take place rapidly, the Commission and External Action Service want to re-examine the role of the EU in Arctic affairs. High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borell, said the Arctic is a rapidly evolving frontier in international relations. The Barents Observer

 

A Group of International Researchers Has Mapped More of the Arctic Ocean Floor Than Ever Before. The Arctic Ocean floor just got a little less mysterious. A team of international researchers has compiled the most detailed map of the Arctic seabed to date. It was published earlier this month in the journal Scientific Data. The map is part of this year's contribution to the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, which seeks to map the world's ocean floor by 2030. CBC News