00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 39                                                                                           
01 Relating to the Northern Sea Route.                                                                                     
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03  WHEREAS Alaska is strategically located on the Northern Sea Route between trading                                      
04 partners on the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans; and                                                                        
05  WHEREAS Alaska has many resources for which there are markets among the nations                                        
06 on the Atlantic Ocean; and                                                                                              
07  WHEREAS studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others predict increases                                       
08 in commercial shipments via the Northern Sea Route through Alaska waters; and                                           
09  WHEREAS, though the technology of Arctic ship design is advanced, the present fleet                                    
10 of Arctic cargo ships has limited capacity to carry Alaska or international cargoes; and                                
11  WHEREAS Arctic research by the United States has focused on questions of                                               
12 ecological balance and climate change and has directed less effort toward factors that directly                         
13 affect the cost of Arctic shipping; and                                                                                 
14  WHEREAS Alaskans living along the great rivers of the state and along the Arctic                                       
01 coast will benefit from advances in Arctic technology;                                                                  
02  BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the Governor is respectfully                                       
03 requested to direct the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development to                                       
04 aggressively pursue improved relations with Alaska's present trading partners and to seek new                           
05 markets and trading partners in Russia, other Arctic nations, and Europe; and be it                                     
06  FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Alaska is respectfully requested to                                            
07 consolidate its Arctic research and development programs so that limited funds are applied                              
08 efficiently with a special emphasis on the technical and economic aspects of waterborne                                 
09 commerce in Arctic waters and along the Northern Sea Route; and be it                                                   
10  FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is respectfully requested to direct the                                             
11 Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to continue its cooperation with the                          
12 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in improving the competitiveness of Alaska's ports and with                                
13 the Federal Highway Administration in developing intermodal facilities that bring Alaskan                               
14 products to tidewater; and be it                                                                                        
15  FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric                                                        
16 Administration is respectfully requested to perform a comprehensive review of the accuracy                              
17 of nautical charts of Alaska's Arctic waters and the approaches to the Northern Sea Route and                           
18 to accomplish those surveys that are necessary to improve nautical charts to the highest                                
19 practical standard of accuracy and utility; and be it                                                                   
20  FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Coast Guard is respectfully requested to                                                
21 perform a comprehensive review of aids to navigation that exist in Arctic waters of Alaska                              
22 and availability of other services that improve the safety of people, ships, and cargoes en                             
23 route, and to make improvements that will enhance these safety measures to the highest                                  
24 practical standard; and be it                                                                                           
25  FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is respectfully                                                 
26 requested to perform an investigation of the prospective navigation improvements along the                              
27 Arctic coast of Alaska and along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, with a view toward the                                 
28 efficient supply of fuel and other supplies to rural Alaska communities located along these                             
29 waterways.                                                                                                              
30  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable D. James Baker,                                               
31 Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of                                      
01 Commerce; Admiral Robert E. Kramek, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard; Lt. General Arthur                                    
02 Williams, Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and                                 
03 the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                         
04 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.