Through my participation in meetings of the U. S. Arctic Research Commission, the Russian Geographical Society, the Northern Forum, the Northern Research Forum, the Arctic Council and its predecessor, the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy – whose record of circumpolar cooperation has spanned twenty years and counting – I’ve been privileged to see us build a real neighborhood at the top of t [...] Of the 135 full transits of the various routes of the Passage since Roald Amundsen’s historic voyage in 1903–6 (60 voyages since 2000), the thirteen vessels represent the highest number of full transits in a single summer season.4 4 1. THE FAST-CHANGING MARITIME ARCTIC Three notable scientific expeditions were conducted in the central Arctic Ocean, two of which were primarily related to gathering [...] AMSA reaffirms the Arctic state view that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) re- mains the legal framework that influences and guides current and future gov- ernance of the Arctic Ocean. [...] Discussions were held on the need for deepening cooperation as seabed claims are submitted, and the importance of addressing the many challenges of greater Arctic Ocean accessibility.5 Concern was expressed outside and within the group that miss- ing from the meeting were Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and representatives of the Arctic’s indigenous peoples. [...] This ship rescued personnel from the Soviet North Pole Drift Station 27 and also established the new Drift Station 29 in the northern Laptev Sea, during a demanding voyage in the central Arctic Ocean from May 8 to June 19, 1987.9 Seven of the voyages that reached the North Pole were also trans-Arc- tic, or complete crossings of the ocean for tourism and scientific research: In August 1991, the Sov