Breaking ice for Arctic oil - Ross Coen

In 1969, an icebreaking tanker, the SS Manhattan, was
commissioned by Humble Oil to transit the Northwest Passage in order to
test the logistical and economic feasibility of an all-marine
transportation system for Alaska North Slope crude oil. Proposed as an
alternative to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Manhattan made two
voyages to the North American Arctic and collected volumes of scientific
data on ice conditions and the behavior of ships in ice. Although the Manhattan successfully
navigated the Northwest Passage-closing a five-hundred-year chapter of
Arctic exploration by becoming the first commercial vessel to do so-the
expedition ultimately demonstrated the impracticality of moving crude
oil using icebreaking ships.Breaking Ice for Arctic Oil details this historic voyage,
establishing its significant impact on the future of marine traffic and
resource development in the Arctic and setting the stage for the current
oil crisis.