About the authors:
Dr. John T. Oliver is the senior ocean advisor of the Emerging Policy
Staff at U.S. Coast Guard headquarters. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Washington School of Law. He
also holds a Master of Law degree and a Doctor of Juridical Science
degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He teaches a
seminar, "National Security and the Law of the Sea," as an adjunct
professor at the Georgetown Law Center.
3. hailandwasthemostrecentstatetojointheconventiononMay15,
T
Mr. Steve G. Venckus is the deputy chief of the Coast Guard's Offce
of Maritime and International Law. He is a 1974 graduate of the
Coast Guard Academy and received his Juris Doctorate from Case
Western Reserve University Law School in 1984.
Author's note:
Theopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthors
anddonotnecessarilyrepresentoffcialCoastGuardpolicy.
Endnotes:
1. United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. Dec.10,1982,1833U.N.T.S.397,as
revisedin1994.Availableatwww.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf. For extensive catalogs of primary
authoritiesanddocumentsanalyzingandsupportingtheconvention,see
www.oceanlaw.org(RuleofLawCommitteefortheOceans);www.virginia.edu/colp/los(CenterforOceanLawandPolicyattheUniversityof
Virginia);andwww.jag.navy.mil/organization/code_10_law_of_the_sea.
htm(NavyJudgeAdvocateGeneral,OffceofInternationalandOperationalLaw).
2. enryA.Kissenger,etal.Op-Ed, Time to Join the Law of the Sea Convention,
H
WallSt.J.,May31,2012.Availableathttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB100
01424052702303674004577434770851478912.html.
2011.Status of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. NewYork,NY:
UnitedNations.Availableatwww.un.org/Depts/los/reference_fles/
status2010.pdf.
4. heSenateForeignRelationsCommittee(andothercognizantSenate
T
committees)heldhearingsontheconventionin2004and2007.Oneach
occasion,theSFRCvotedoutaresolution,overwhelminglyrecommending(19-0in2004,17-4in2007)thatthefullSenatedebateandthenvote
fortheUnitedStatestojointheconvention.
5. orgerson,ScottJ.&ThomasR.Pickering.Climate; Right for U.S. JoinB
ing Law of the Sea Convention, Dec.23,2009.AvailableattheCouncilon
ForeignRelationswebsiteatwww.cfr.org/united-states/climate-rightus-joining-law-sea-convention/p21041?breadcrumb=%2Fpublication%2
Fby_type%2Fregion_issue_brief.
6. To Rule the Arctic's Waves, U.S. Can't Waive the Rules: View. BusinessWeek
editorial,Oct.6,2011.Availableatwww.businessweek.com/news/201110-05/to-rule-the-arctic-s-waves-u-s-can-t-waive-the-rules-view.html;see
also TestimonyofPaulKelly,SeniorVicePresident,RowanCompanies,
Inc.,OversightHearingtoExaminetheUnitedNationsConventiononthe
LawoftheSea,BeforetheSenateCommitteeonEnvironmentandPublic
Works,Mar.24,2004.Availableathttp://epw.senate.gov/hearing_statements.cfm?id=219592(notingthatthelackoflegalcertaintiesinoffshore
developmentcreatemajorrisksthatundermineinvestment).
7. Shipping and World Trade: Key Facts. InternationalChamberofShipping,
ShippingandWorldTradewebsite.Availableatwww.marisec.org/shippingfacts/worldtrade/index.php.
8. IMO: Polar Code Guidelines and Standards Under Development. Safety4Sea,
Feb.20,2012.Availableatwww.safety4sea.com/page/9691/1/imo:-polarcode-guidelines-and-standards-under-construction.
9. estimony of ADM Robert J. Papp, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard,
T
beforetheSenateForeignRelationsCommitteeonAccessiontothe1982
LawoftheSeaConvention,June14,2012.Availableatwww.uscg.mil/
seniorleadership/DOCS/Written%20Testimony%20LOS%20Papp%20
June%2014%202012.pdf.
T h e A r c t i c : D i d yo u k n o wÉ
Camp Century
Little known fact: The U.S. Army built Camp Century early in
the Cold War as a year-round snow base, tunneled into the
Greenland ice cap about 150 miles west of Thule Air Force Base
in Greenland. Its primary purpose was scientifc research, especially deep ice core drilling and analysis. Access to the camp was
solely by air; the army built a snow runway on the icecap above
the camp.
The camp housed 200 people and featured 21 tunnels containing
barracks, mess facilities, a small hospital, a theater, a barbershop,
recreation facilities, and a chapel. Construction was complete
in 1960, at a cost of $7.9 million (equivalent to more than $55
million today).
Inhabitants pumped steam into an ice well, producing more
than 10,000 gallons of fresh water daily. The world's first
portable nuclear generator provided electrical power to the
camp. Camp Century also had a base mascot, a Siberian Husky
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder transits past an iceberg feld
named Mukluk.
located above the Arctic Circle, while steaming along Greenland's
In 1964, the Army abandoned Camp Century due to higher-than- coast. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Offcer George Degener.
expected ice movement, which started to collapse the tunnels.
Source: Science Leads the Way. Camp Century, Greenland. Available at http://
gombessa.tripod.com/scienceleadstheway/id9.html.
56
Proceedings
Summer 2013
www.uscg.mil/proceedings
