2. Some general reflections on navigating Greenlandic waters
Greenland covers an area of 2,127,600 km2. The total Greenlandic marine area covers an area of approximately 2,000,000 km2. Several significant challenges exist in relation to implementing safe navigation of ships through the region. Radio communications can be affected by atmospheric conditions and there are magnetic disturbances, which means that magnetic compasses can become useless. There are areas along the Greenlandic coastline where a systematic, continuous and comprehensive survey of the sea has not been carried out, which places limitations on the use of the digital sea charts, which currently are not yet complete.(1) See Danish Maritime Authority, Navigation in Greenland: https://www.dma.dk/SikkerhedTilSoes/Arktis/SejladsGroenland/Sider/default.aspx with further information and EfS A, General information regarding Danish, Greenlandic and Faroe waters, 17.03.2017, version 2.
In addition, weather conditions in Greenland are very variable because of the ice, which lowers temperatures and causes dense mists. The ice itself also poses a challenge to safe navigation. Fast ice and pack ice are generally found in Greenlandic waters.(2) Fast ice is defined as sea ice that forms and attaches to a coast, ice walls, ice fronts, banks or grounded icebergs. Pack ice is a term to describe any kind of ice that floats in the water and is not attached to land. On different forms of ice in Greenland see Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI): http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/index.uk.php.Fast ice can reach thicknesses of 60–200 cm. Pack ice is ice that calves from fast ice and moves through Greenlandic waters. The amount and type of pack ice varies from year to year and with the season.(3) On ice conditions in Greenlandic waters see SAR Grønland, Eftersøgnings- og redningstjenesten i Grønland, vol. 2 chapter 8. There are also icebergs, which are formed by freshwater. Icebergs absorb a great deal of air, which means that the structure of an iceberg is different from that of ordinary ice. Icebergs present the greatest hazards to shipping. Only ca. 1/7 of the mass of an iceberg is visible above the waterline.
Weather conditions and ice make it currently impossible to navigate in the northern waters of Greenland during the winter. The sailing season in the northern waters of Greenland is obviously determined by the specific weather and ice conditions each year; usually ships can navigate from April to October. During the winter period, supply ships do not sail to the small northern settlements.(4) Danish Maritime Authority, Navigation in Greenland: https://www.dma.dk/SikkerhedTilSoes/Arktis/SejladsGroenland/Sider/default.aspx with further information and EfS A, General information regarding Danish, Greenlandic and Faroe waters, 17.03.2017, version 2.