In theory, and regional destination shipping aside, there are three potential major routes for intercontinental transits through the Arctic (Arctic Council 2009; Østreng et al. 2013). The first, and most realistic, is the Northeast Passage, which includes the Northern Sea Route through Russian Federation waters. The latter has been see-ing growing, albeit incremental, commercial traffic since the first transits of the German-owned heavy lift vessels Beluga Fraternity and Beluga Foresight from Asia to Europe in 2009 (Østreng et al. 2013). The second is the transpolar route through the central Arctic Ocean, which has not yet been tested by commercial ship-ping and is thought not to be feasible for several more decades. The third is the Northwest Passage, mostly through Canadian Arctic waters. This route has seen very few pilot commercial transits. To date, the bulk of shipping in the Canadian Arctic consists of destination shipping, with more occasional activity by small cruise ships and recreational vessels (Wright 2016). While it is too soon to deter-mine whether new and sustainable international shipping routes will take hold in the Northwest Passage, considerable efforts have been invested by public authorities and research institutions to anticipate and understand the potential impacts.