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The Oceans in the Nuclear Age: Legacies and Risks: Expanded Edition
Abstract
The Oceans in the Nuclear Age Project of the Law of the Sea Institute at the University of California Berkeley's School of Law is a multi-year research effort to explore both the legacies of the nuclear age for the oceans and the not always evident but present perils that age yet poses. In June of 2004, the Institute held a workshop with its advisors and other experts focusing on the directions to be taken within the research initiative. On the basis of those discussions, the Institute held a conference on February 10 and 11, 2006. This volume brings together the papers begun at that Conference and several other commissioned works. © 2014 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. All rights reserved.
The surging demand for energy and the proportion of total energy consumption of electricity are on an excessive rise. The eminent interest in nuclear power has been revived, as an aftermath of worldwide concerns on climate, while increasing anxieties on security and the price of fossil fuel supplies. Generating electricity through conventional fossil fuel is more expensive now than ever before because of its limited availability and expensive transportation system. As a matter of fact, the world needs new efficient and environment-friendly ways to produce more energy for developed and developing countries to fulfill the considerably increased demand for electricity. Thus, the share of nuclear power for energy production becomes a popular solution. Nevertheless, nuclear safety is a significant concern because of the potentially catastrophic consequences of accidents or other incidents at nuclear power plants. To address the concern, nuclear energy laws should be designed in a way that guides all aspects of nuclear safety and security, from reactor design and construction to operation, waste management, and decommissioning. Considering the prospect of nuclear energy, this chapter seeks to explore the literature relating to nuclear energy laws and regulation; describes the essential context of nuclear energy law; and indicates the particular focus of the book.
The Deutsches Hydrographisches Institut carried out a research programme during the years 1983 to 1985 in the Northeast Atlantic. One aim of the deep sea project NOAMP (Nord-Ost-Atlantisches-Monitoring-Programm) was the determination of the radioactive burden in the water column of this area, because in earlier years low-level radioactive waste has been dumped in the Northeast Atlantic. Some results of the determination of Cs 137, Sr 90, Tritium and Plutonium are given and discussed in oceanographic context. A difference between dumpsite and control areas cannot be established. -Author
The Arctic has become a theatre for the deployment of strategic weapons systems, a locus of world class oil and gas fields, a prize for those desiring to protect remaining wilderness areas, a laboratory for understanding global climate change, and an embattled homeland for well-organised groups of native peoples. Describes the interests of the four major groups with stakes in the Arctic - the military, industry, natives, and environmentalists, and analyses the emerging conflicts among these groups. The chapters cover Arctic dreams, realities, issues and conflicts, security, industrial, native and environmental interests, as well as private, public, and international initiatives. -from Publisher
Among the many products available for exploitation in the ocean are metalliferous muds. The mining of such products is relatively new and requires substantial research to determine environmental impacts. A pilot study of metalliferous mud mining in the Red Sea found that mud tailings may spread over a wide area and pollute sea water with potential ill-effects for marine organisms. Nevertheless, the results were non-conclusive; an in situ test will be necessary for an effective risk assessment. -Authors
The phrase 'creeping jurisdiction' has been applied by a number of publicists to the gradual extension of state jurisdiction offshore in the law of the sea through the course of the 20th century. Under the current United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), and confirmed by international practice, the territorial sea is 12 nautical miles wide. It might have been thought that jurisdictional creep had ended with the conclusion of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) in 1982. This chapter examines whether contemporary practice may lead to a further creeping of jurisdiction, not in a further grab for resources, but in an effort by states to provide themselves with greater security from threats from the sea. It examines contemporary and emerging practice in respect of maritime security, and discusses whether seeking greater control over security - which covers military security and environmental security - is the next generation of jurisdictional creep. Beyond the territorial sea, the LOSC also confirms that there is freedom of navigation for all vessels. This is essentially applicable for the exclusive economic zone and high seas areas beyond it.
It is estimated that 0.3-3% of spring primary production sedimented to the deep-sea floor. Modes of aggregate formation in the surface waters, their sedimentation, and distribution on the seabed are discussed. -from Authors
The transport or migration of dissolved ions (specifically radionuclides) in the sediments of the deep seabed differs from the analogous processes in most proposed terrestrial geologic disposal sites. Deep-sea pelagic clay, which is the most plausible disposal medium, is saturated with a 3. 5 percent brine solution. Because of the lack of fractures, extremely fine particle size, and virtual absence of lateral hydrostatic pressure gradients or unstable stratification, molecular diffusion is likely to be more important than advection in the dispersal of dissolved ions. The paper discusses advection and diffusion in unperturbed and perturbed seabed environments.
Following September 11, 2001, the Security Council took a number of important steps in the fight against terrorism. It condemned global terror and recognized the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter in responding forcefully to those horrific attacks. Perhaps its most significant action in this area, however, was the adoption of Resolution 1373 which established the Counter-Terrorism Committee (the CTC). Addressing the significance and substance of this Security Council action, this essay reviews the work of the CTC to date, highlighting some of its accomplishments, and then touches upon some of the challenges the CTC will likely confront as it progresses with its mission. How it chooses to confront these challenges will surely have a considerable impact on its future work.
If man must deal with radioactive wastes it is incumbent upon him to search all of the earth's surface for areas that might be useful in this regard. About 70% of the earth's surface is covered by the oceans, and from a brief survey of that 70%, several conclusions have been reached. The mid plate/mid gyre regions of the major oceanic basins are the most stable and perhaps most otherwise useless regions on earth. Emplacement of waste canisters well below the surface of the sediments, likely deep into the basalt, seems possible and appears to provide a set of barriers to the release of radionuclides. While there are not sufficient data now to assess rates and kinds of seafloor processes, or the technical feasibility of seabed disposal of radioactive wastes, enough is known to define the questions and the systematic interdisciplinary effort required to answer them. The central North Pacific the largest mid plate/mid gyre region in the world is one suitable and convenient area for the initiation of such studies. Thus, while far from advocating seabed disposal and almost as far from a conclusion that it is technically feasible a type of area on the planet has been identified that deserves careful study as a possible repository. It is not possible to define presently any insurmountable technical barriers to such a disposal concept.
As a US-led coalition operation designed to obstruct weapons proliferation, the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is especially applicable to North Korea. Though practical measures have been developed to implement the interdiction of seaborne weapons shipments in particular, the PSI has yet to be rendered consistent with the international legal regime supporting free navigation of the high seas. Nor has it attracted specific United Nations support. A review of the 1962 ‘quarantine’ of Cuba demonstrates that in the absence of a more restrictive approach towards Pyongyang and conclusive evidence that North Korean weapons capability poses a current threat to the United States, the appellation ‘Cuba Lite’ is not inappropriate. Furthermore, in the context of multilateral diplomacy intended to persuade North Korea to relinquish its nuclear weapons programs in exchange for security guarantees, the PSI may be interpreted as pressuring Pyongyang and thus may not be perceived – even by PSI coalition partners – as consistent with that diplomacy.
This study examines the international law on access to maritime ports, in particular, in relation to the right to deny access to foreign fishing vessels, especially in response to overfishing and the undermining of conservation measures. The first part surveys the general principles of international law, international conventions, state practice, the resolutions of international organizations and diplomatic conferences and the opinions of distinguished legal experts, to come to the determination that coastal states have a sovereign right to regulate and even to deny access to their maritime ports. The second part considers the arguments that have been advanced against such a right, concluding that the objections are unfounded.
Measurements of pore pressure and temperature made in the Great Meteor East region of the Madeira Abyssal Plain (approximately 31°30'N, 24°30'W) are described in this paper. The aim of the study was to establish whether pore-water advection exists in the upper sediment sequence which is important for assessing the area as a potential repository for high-level radioactive waste. The relative merits of deducing advection velocities from pore-pressure or temperature gradients are considered, together with the accuracies that can be obtained from each technique and the data collected to date. Heat-flow measurements and non-linear sediment-temperature profiles indicate that hydrothermal circulation is present in the basement with upward advection occurring within sediments over some basement highs. However, the pore-pressure data imply that advection is generally absent within the area. The discrepancies in these interpretations are discussed with respect to the geological setting and the physical characteristics of the sediments.
Given the successes and political controversies that threat reduction cooperation with Russia has generated, how much of a role can these programs play in Iraq and Libya, India and Pakistan, or even eventually Iran or North Korea?
The Japanese government's shipment of plutonium from France to Japan raises a number of significant questions under international law. The first shipment, which began in November 1992 on the Akatsuki Maru, violated international law in several respects. This article analyzes the international law that governs these shipments, focusing on the rules that govern navigation on the high seas and exclusive economic zones, territorial seas, and international straits, and also addresses the question of liability for damage.
Burial within the sediments of the deep ocean floor is one of the options that have been proposed for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. An international research programme is in progress to determine whether oceanic sediments have the requisite properties for this purpose. After summarizing the salient features of this programme, the paper focuses on the Great Meteor East study area in the Northeast Atlantic, where most oceanographic effort has been concentrated. The geological, geochemical and geotechnical properties of the sediments in the area are discussed. Measurements designed to determine the rate of pore water movement through the sediment column are described. Our understanding of the chemistry of both the solid and pore-water phases of the sediment are outlined, emphasizing the control that redox conditions have on the mobility of, for example, naturally occurring manganese and uranium. The burial of instrumented free-fall penetrators to depths of 30 m beneath the ocean floor is described, modelling one of the methods by which waste might be emplaced. Finally, the nature of this oceanic environment is compared with geological environments on land and attention is drawn to the gaps in our knowledge that must be filled before oceanic burial can be regarded as an acceptable disposal option.
The Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (the Basel Convention), which is of global application, covers both land and marine transboundary movements of hazardous wastes. As a general principle, it provides that transboundary movements of hazardous wastes shall take place only with the prior written notification by the state of export to both the state of import and the state of transit, and the prior written consent, i.e. the authorization, of those states (Article 5(3)). However, as far as the sea is concerned, the Basel Convention includes a provision which protects two potentially conflicting elements, namely, the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of coastal states and the exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by third states. The legal problems raised by foreign ships passing through a state's territorial sea carrying hazardous wastes are not explicity addressed by other treaties. An intermediate and innovative solution that consists of a 'notification without authorization' scheme, can be found in a recently concluded regional treaty, the Protocol on the Prevention of Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, adopted in Izmir, Turkey, on 1 October 1996 (the Izmir Protocol). The provisions of the Izmir Protocol are to be understood in the light of its limited sphere of application. It covers only a particularly dangerous category of ships, namely those carrying hazardous wastes and only a specific semi-enclosed sea, the Mediterranean, which is particularly threatened by pollution.
A new regime is emerging to govern the sea transport of ultrahazardous materials such as plutonium and high‐level nuclear wastes. Building on the precautionary principle and on provisions in the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Maritime Organization are developing instruments that confirm the requirements of prior consultation on routes and emergencies and the preparation of environmental impact assessments. State practice, as reflected in the complaints voiced during the 1992 shipment of plutonium and the 1995 shipment of vitrified high‐level wastes from France to Japan, and in the acquiescence of the vessels to these complaints, indicates that the countries involved in and affected by these shipments already understand and accept the emergence of this new regime.
The transport of hazardous cargo has long juxtaposed maritime interests in maintaining navigation rights against the concerns of coastal States over the threat the exercise of such rights poses to the waters off their coast. The shipment of highly radioactive substances has emerged as the most recent, and perhaps starkest reflection of this conflict. Drawing upon contemporary events, this article will examine the continuing controversy over the shipment of highly radioactive cargo and its implications for the law of the sea. First, the origins of the issue in the emergence of radioactive transport itself will be surveyed. Next the international legal regime governing the transport of such cargo will be evaluated, highlighting the different responses at the international, national and regional level. This article will then conclude by considering the prospects for resolution resulting from the recent debate over the Code for the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel (INF Code), suggesting the need to formulate alternative approach to shipboard controls in responding to contemporary issues of vessel-source pollution.
Radioactive material which is transported over sea has, so far, not resulted in any pollution of the sea. This paper reviews the legal regime of the maritime carriage of nuclear and radioactive materials and assesses its sufficiency in general and in the context of the risks of nuclear terrorism. It is noted that the respective provisions have been elaborated under the auspices of two different international organisations, namely IMO and IAEA, and that their reaction to possible nuclear threats is slow.
The Arctic is a vast, forbidding and relatively unknown region. It covers about 14 million square kilometers of which 5.2 square kilometers is ice covered in summer and 11.7 million square kilometers in winter. It is a highly strategic region, and is the shortest distance between the two superpowers. It also contains vast resources, including oil, gas, and coal. Over 830,000 native peoples inhabit the Arctic Rim and have a culture that goes back 4500 years. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is generally applicable to the Arctic Ocean and has a special provision for ice‐covered areas. However, there are several unresolved jurisdictional and navigational problems between the United States and other Arctic Rim States concerning the Arctic's waters, including the Chukchi Sea, the Beaufort Sea and the Northwest Passage. Although the United States has paid some attention to the Arctic region in recent years, the Arctic still remains a relatively low priority interest for national policy and operational programs.
Political rhetoric and debates about interdiction's impact on Libya have led to a number of misconceptions about this coalition of the willing's focus and potential effectiveness as well as myriad political, legal, operational, and informational issues outlined here.
United States policy on international straits is dictated by the vital importance to U.S. national security interests of unimpeded commercial and military transit through, over, and under sea lines of communication. Although perceived flaws in the deep seabed mining regime of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention precluded U.S. signature or ratification of that document, the United States considers that the navigational articles of the convention reflect customary international law. Accordingly, U.S. policy on international straits is premised on recognition of and respect for the balance of interests set forth in the navigational articles of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.
THE ventilation of the intermediate and deep layers of the ocean is governed by convection: dense water formed at the sea surface through air–sea interaction processes (mainly at high latitudes) sinks to great depths. Convection determines the heat, salt and dissolved-gas budgets of the ocean's interior and therefore exerts a significant influence on the Earth's climate. Convective processes can also be initiated by the flow of dense water over submarine sills separating ocean basins with water masses of different buoyancy. Here we report the observation of relatively light deep water in the overflow region near the sill in the northern part of the 5,000-m-deep Sulu Sea. Because of its buoyancy, this water could not have reached the sea floor of its own accord. Turbidity currents, induced by changes in water density that result from sediment influx, occur in this region at intervals of several decades, as indicated by the frequent deposition of graded sequences of silty mud on the abyssal plain. We suggest that such turbidity currents, combined with the effects of classical hydrological plume convection, are capable of bringing light water to large depths. In tropical regions, where normal oceanic convection is relatively weak, this mechanism may contribute significantly to the ventilation of deep basins.
The use of streamlined projectiles is a possible method of disposing of high-level radioactive waste in oceanic sediments1–3. But there is little information about the manner in which freely-falling projectiles impact on the ocean floor4–5. To correct this situation, the Engineering Studies Task Group of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Seabed Working Group, through which research into the feasibility of high-level radioactive waste disposal in the sediments of the ocean floor is coordinated, recommended a programme of studies with instrumented model penetrators6. The first tests in this programme are reported here and were carried out on RRS Discovery cruise 134 in the Great Meteor East (GME) radioactive waste disposal study area in March 1983, as a collaborative experiment between the Building Research Establishment, the Joint Research Centre and the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences.
Until recently the deep sea was considered to be a particularly stable environment1, free from seasonal variations. However, atmospheric storms may cause periodicity in deep-ocean currents2 and nepheloid layers3 while seasonality in the particulate flux to the deep sea is known to occur in the Sargasso Sea4,5 and Panama Basin6. Evidence is presented here of a similar seasonal pulse of detrital material to bathyal and abyssal depths in temperate latitudes; this material seems to be derived directly from the surface primary production and to sink rapidly to the deep-sea benthos. Considerable sedimentation occurs soon after the spring bloom and continues throughout the early summer. This process acts as a pathway for the descent of carbon from the euphotic zone, providing a periodic food source for the deep pelagic and benthic communities.
The practice of imposing economic sanctions in order to influence the actions of states and other parties—historically with varied levels of actual effectiveness—has a long and chequered history.
2
Given, however, that more than 90 per cent of the world's trade is carried by sea,
3
it is one particular form of sanction management—the ‘so called economic weapon’ of naval blockade— which tends to dominate the implementation of sanctions regimes.
4
Yet despite the frequency with which naval forces are used to implement maritime sanctions—or perhaps because of the long but erratic history of naval embargo and blockade—the regime as a whole remains haunted by some uncertainties as to its conceptual basis. As WL Martin observes, ‘some measures such as “pacific blockade”, have at times acquired a technical meaning’ which has left them ill-equipped to deal with and adjust to new developments in blockade practice.
5
Even prior to 1914, the notion of ‘blockade’ was a dualist concept. On one hand, it was clearly a weapon of war.
6
On 14 December 2004, Australia announced the institution of a ‘Maritime Identification Zone’, extending 1000 nautical miles from its coast and involving the identification of vessels seeking to enter Australian ports, as well as vessels transiting Australia' Exclusive Economic Zone. This Article analyses the legality of these security measures under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, new developments through the International Maritime Organization and the Proliferation Security Initiative. The implications of prescribing and enforcing identification requirements on the high seas and in the EEZ, the impact on maritime boundaries and avenues for dispute settlement are all explored.
LONG-TERM radionuclide mobility is a primary concern for evaluating options for the disposal of radioactive waste. Information relevant to the long timescales necessary may be obtained from natural radionuclides. Here we examine a characteristic irregular profile of uranium concentration with depth, in deep-sea turbidite units more than 500,000 years old. This is enough time either for secular equilibrium to have been established, or for daughter radionuclides to have achieved steady-state distributions in response to local advection and diffusion. We find that advection is absent and that the 238U-series radionuclides 234U and 230Th are remarkably immobile, with very small effective diffusion coefficients, D < 5 x 10-13 cm2 s-1. But a fraction of the total 226Ra (another daughter radionuclide in the 238U decay series) is mobile, with D = 10-9-10-10 cm2 s-1. This work suggests that the reducing nature of the sediments at depth is important in maintaining such low D values. The in situ diffusion behaviour observed must be correctly predicted by any model used for evaluating waste disposal options.
New technical and economic developments present new challenges to international policymakers and lawyers. Transport by sea of ultrahazardous radioactive materials is a relatively new activity that has taken place without clear rules in place to protect the safety of those affected. It has received some attention from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and several regional bodies, but much work remains to be done to establish an appropriate international legal regime to ensure the safety of this activity. A primary difficulty in marine environment protection is the ongoing tension that exists between protection of the marine environment and freedom of navigation. It should be recognized that marine environment protection in general, and particularly in the context of nuclear materials, is at least as important as the right to freely navigate (which in any event is not an absolute right), and that the conflict between these values needs to be addressed and resolved. This must take place within the changing framework of international law and institutions, and must be done in a way that adequately protects the interests of coastal nations and other stakeholders. Unless the appropriate international and regional bodies develop a new regime to govern these shipments of ultrahazardous cargoes, which have the potential to cause devastating damage to the marine environment and coastal populations, affected coastal states will resort to unilateral, regional, and technical solutions that may undermine important institutions and principles of international law.
Specimens of Coryphaenoides armatus, a benthopelagic fish, were collected from the North Atlantic and North Pacific for trace metal analysis. Concentrations of cadmium and lead in muscle tissue of Atlantic fish were not significantly different from those of Pacific fish. Differences in copper concentrations in the two groups may be related to size difference. Higher concentrations of nickel, cobalt, iron and manganese observed in muscle tissue from the Pacific fish may be due to differences in fish size and differences in deep water metal chemistry between the two oceans.
Data are presented on trace metal and organic hydrocarbon (PCBs, PAHs, and chlorinated pesticides) concentrations in muscle, liver, gonad, and other tissues from two small 1981–1982 collections of tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps): from near Lydonia Canyon (on Georges Bank) and below Hudson Canyon (off New Jersey). Significant concentrations of trace metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons (PCBs and pesticides) were detected in the tissues, but these were generally within the ranges reported for other deep-sea and continental shelf fish in the Middle Atlantic Bight. Higher chlorinated hydrocarbon concentrations were detected in fish from the Lydonia Canyon area, compared with concentrations detected in the fish from below the Hudson Canyon. The difference appears to be statistically significant for most compounds and no satisfactory explanation can be suggested.
In the period 1993–1995 the OMEX area has been visited 3 times to address the question of across-slope transport of suspended matter from the shelf to the deep sea. By analyzing phytopigments and nucleic acids in the sediment and water of the N.W. European Continental slope and rise seasonal patterns of benthic food input were investigated and relation between input and the structure and activity of the benthic community were explored. Chloropigments in the surface sediments indicated that a spring bloom effect could be traced down to about 2500 m. During late August 1995 heavy deposits of gelatinous matter, characterized by high concentrations of chloropigments and nucleic acids, were detected all over the ocean floor of the outer slope and continental rise below 3500 m. It is estimated that this mucus layer had a carbon load of 250 mmol C m−2 over an area of 50,000 km2. The recent state of the mucus allowed us to search for its origin. Characteristic pigment composition and the presence of coccoliths pointed to prymnesiophytes (coccolithophorids) as a major contributor, but dinoflagellates (peridinin) and green algae (chlorophyll-b, lutein) must have contributed as well. Simultaneous observations of the overlying water column, deep chlorophyll maximum, revealed the presence of a coccolithophorid bloom in a recent stage of disintegration at St. III. An obvious relation with the mucus carpet, however, could not be indicated. This, and the significant differences in pigment composition and pigment ratios at the various deep stations lead us to understand that the extended mucus field at the Celtic slope originates from different, more or less synoptically occurring surface blooms. The presence of large `vacuum-cleaning' sea-cucumbers is considered indicative of the occurrence of phytodetritus pulses.
Although the international community has taken some steps to address the risks created by the movements of ultrahazardous radioactive cargoes, important gaps still exist in the legal regime governing these activities. An apparent consensus has been reached at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to make the Code for the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium, and High-Level Radio-active Wastes in Flasks Aboard Ships (the INF Code) mandatory and to seek some clarification of the standards governing shipboard safety. But still lacking are agreements regarding salvage responsibilities, liability of shippers for damages, revision of transport cask safety standards to meet maritime accident conditions, obligations to consult regarding the best routes and to provide advance notification to concerned coastal states, the preparation of environmental assessments, and contingency planning to handle shore emergencies and salvage responsibilities. Until agreements are reached on these important matters, the shipment of these extremely dangerous or "ultrahaz-ardous" materials will continue to violate fundamental norms of international law and comity because they place coastal nations that receive no benefit from the ship-ments at grave risk of environmental disaster without any legal protections. Because the shipments of ultrahazardous radioactive cargoes are increasing, it is highly advisable for concerned nations to negotiate regional protocols delineating the legal regime that applies to these maritime transports. A draft model protocol is attached at the end of this article which may provide guidance on this effort. It is also appropriate for concerned nations to consider bringing a claim against the shipping nations under the dispute resolution mechanisms established by the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. Such a claim would be based on the failure of the shipping nations to comply with their obligations under the convention to prepare and distribute environmental impact assessments, consult with affected nations, prepare emergency contingency plans, and agree to an effective liability regime in the event of an accident. Because of the grave potential risks created by these shipments and because of the failure of the shippers to meet their obligations to protect coastal nations from these risks, coastal nations may be justified under international law to take unilateral or regional action to block future shipments.
Radioactive waste, arising from civilian nuclear activities as well as from defence-related nuclear-weapon activities, poses a formidable problem for handling and protecting the environment to be safe to the present and future generations. This article deals with this global problem in its varied aspects and discusses the cause for concern, the magnitude of the waste involved and various solutions proposed and being practised. As nuclear power and arsenal grow, continuous monitoring and immobilization of the waste over several decades and centuries and deposition in safe repositories, assumes great relevance and importance.
Two Norwegian researchers examine the forces alternatively driving and hindering offshore hydrocarbon development in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea. The paper describes exploration activities beginning during the Soviet period and extending to the present, the status of the major development projects financed in part with foreign capital, and conflicting regional and central government interests involved in such development. Cover-age includes the emergence of Rosshelf, an oil/gas conglomerate formed to facilitate defense conversion activities of major naval shipyards. Critical to analysis of the projects? potential is assessment of alternative gas supplies and energy development strategies.