My Three Weeks Navigating Ice in the Arctic Ocean

THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE—Climate change is melting sea ice at a quickening pace, and in the process rekindling dreams that have beguiled seafarers for centuries: finding an alternative shipping route to Asia around the North Pole.

Commercial shippers hope to establish an express shipping lane to save time and money. Western governments seek to deepen their presence in the Arctic to catch up with Russia. Tourists and researchers are drawn to one of the least explored regions on earth.