Arctic Yearbook 2014 | Page 17

29 Nov: Australian Colin Russell, the final member of the Greenpeace crew detained following their actions at the Prirazlomnaya offshore platform, is released from detention in Russia. (Guardian) 8 Jan: Construction begins on Canada’s “first highway to the Arctic Ocean” from Inuvik, NWT to Tuktoyaktuk. (Alaska Dispatch) 10 Dec: China-Nordic Arctic Research Centre, based in Shanghai, is launched. (Arctic Journal) 13 29 DEC 06 10 20 Dec: Gazprom announces that oil production has officially begun at the Arctic offshore platform “Prirazlomnaya”, the target of earlier protests by Greenpeace ‘s“Arctic 30”. 12 6 Dec: Canada makes a submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, but does not include the Arctic Ocean. 20 25 JAN 08 09 9 Jan: Amendments to Russian law are proposed including a change that would create a three-mile “exclusion zone” around offshore installations, with stiff penalties for trespassing. (Arctic-Info) 12 Dec: NOAA releases the 2013 update to its Arctic Report Card. 13 Nov: US Department of Defense releases a new Arctic strategy at the Halifax International Security Forum. 25 Dec: The Russian government’s charges against Greenpeace’s “Arctic 30” are dropped after an offer of amnesty is approved b y the Russian Duma. (Bloomberg)