The US Coast Guard identified a potential chokepoint in the Bering Strait thanks to increased oil and gas shipments, a new report showed on Monday. In a rather imperfect combination of events, the Coast Guard explains in its newest report, Arctic warming has increased shipping through this narrow and shallow strait, increasing the likelihood of collisions and groundings. This increase in shipments through the narrow waterway is mostly due to increased shipments from Russia’s massive Yamal terminal. These Arctic shipping routes save time over other routes such as through the Straits of Malacca and the Suez Canal. The US Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic still holds more than 10 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil, and roughly 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas. Russia’s Yamal LNG has the capacity of 17.4 million tons, shipping its first cargo near the end of 2017. And while that’s significant, Russia […]