Archive for «News»

Funding for Arctic oil spill response project

June 29th, 2020

A sum of NOK 360 000 has been awarded to the Norwegian Coastal Administration and AECO  through the Arctic Council’s Emergency, Prevention,  Preparedness and Response (EPPR) working group  This will contribute towards the launch of NEPTUNE, a project to investigate if expedition cruise vessels can be used in Arctic oil spill preparedness and response.    A project to enhance the collective preparedness in the Arctic through utilizing the resources of the […]

AECO represented in a Committee appointed by the King and Council of State

June 19th, 2020

Today, in a meeting in the Council Chamber at the Royal Palace the Norwegian King and the Council of State have appointed a new official committee that will provide advice and recommendations on maritime safety and preparedness challenges related to cruise traffic in Norway, including Svalbard. We are proud and honoured to announce that AECO’s […]

Half a million NOK grant to AECO to combat marine plastic pollution

June 18th, 2020

The Norwegian Retailer’s Environment Fund (Handelens Miljøfond) has awarded 500,000 NOK (≈ 53,000 USD) to secure AECO’s continued efforts to combat marine plastics pollution within AECO’s Clean Seas Project, which has been running since May 2018. AECO members have been conducting beach cleanups for decades, and the secretariat has recorded thousands of passengers, staff and […]

Norway leads way – reopening of Svalbard for expedition cruises

June 12th, 2020

Norway leads way – reopening of Svalbard for expedition cruises Today, the Norwegian Government announced that expedition cruise operations will be allowed again in Svalbard with certain rigorous conditions. The decision is based in part on thorough work on providing infection control guidelines for the expedition cruise industry which has been carried out by several […]

AECO& IAATO developing field staff standards for the industry

May 27th, 2020

AECO  in collaboration with IAATO – International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators – and joint members are meeting online these days to develop new polar field staff training standards for the expedition cruise industry . The meeting that was supposed to take place in Iceland a couple of months back had been postponed because of […]

Cruise workshop focusing on COVID-19 and sustainability

May 25th, 2020

COVID-19 has hit the tourism industry in Greenland hard, and the outlook for the 2020 cruise season is uncertain. The pandemic has also changed the premise of many workshops and seminars such as the Cruise Greenland Workshop (originally planned for Kangerlussuaq in May) which instead was converted to a digital cruise workshop that was held […]

Virtual conference: COVID-19 Impacts in the Arctic

May 15th, 2020

On May 19 AECO’s Executive Director Frigg Jørgensen will join as a panelist in a session about Economies of the Arctic as part of a virtual conference organized and hosted by the US Naval War College, the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute, and the US Arctic Research Commission about the impacts of COVID-19 in the Arctic. […]

AECO does remote teaching for Campus Kujalleq students

May 4th, 2020

Over the past few weeks, several staff from AECO have been remotely teaching students from Campus Kujalleq in Qaqortoq, South Greenland. The teaching took place as part of AECO’s Community Engagement program which aims at increasing cooperation with communities from Greenland, Svalbard, Iceland and Arctic Canada. Thanks to video conferences, the students received biology lessons […]

AECO’s Clean Seas efforts featured in report from Harvard Kennedy School

April 14th, 2020

AECO participated in a workshop the fall of 2019 entitled ‘Policy and Action on Plastics in the Arctic Ocean’, co-hosted by the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Based on the discussions at this workshop, a report by the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center was released with recommendations for researchers and policymakers. We are proud […]

AECO joins Greenland’s Nautical Committee

March 31st, 2020

Earlier this month AECO was adopted as a member of Greenland’s Nautical Committee represented by Assistant Director Anders la Cour Vahl. The Nautical Committee was established in Greenland on May 26, 1998 by then Home Rule Government, and falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Infrastructure. The purpose of the Nautical Committee is to […]