Transpolar Sea Route

However, due to the increasing decline of Arctic sea ice extent,[4] the route is expected to become more viable in the future.

[4] Due to high seasonal variability of ice conditions throughout the entire Arctic basin, the TSR will not exist as one fixed shipping lane, but will follow a number of navigational routes.

While a number of legal disagreement and uncertainties revolve around both the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route, the TSR lies outside the territorial jurisdiction of any state.

[4] The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long was one of the first major vessels to utilize the route during its 2012 journey through the Arctic Ocean.

[6] In 2019, the German company Bremenports announced it had entered into a contract to build the Finnafjord Port in Iceland which would cater to trans-arctic shipping.