This initiative will document and analyse historical interactions and accidents, offering valuable lessons for current maritime operations. The research will be delivered by Dr Claudio Aporta, Professor and Canadian Chair in Marine Environmental Protection at the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden, together with Associate Professor Dr Anish Hebbar, also at the World Maritime University.
The search for the Northwest Passage was marked by extreme conditions—uncharted territories, short navigation seasons, sea ice, and limited resources—that made Arctic exploration particularly perilous. Contrary to early assumptions, the region was not an open sea but a labyrinth of over 36,000 islands, narrow ice-filled straits, and hidden maritime hazards, making navigation exceptionally difficult.
At the same time, the Inuit had long thrived in this environment, guided by generations of knowledge about sea ice, weather patterns, and safe travel across land and water. Their skills, tools, and toponymic systems were finely tuned to the Arctic’s natural rhythms, embedding safety-critical information into place names and practices.
During 19th-century exploration, Inuit communities often interacted with European expeditions—particularly British ones—and played a vital yet underexplored role in sharing knowledge and supporting navigation. While many of these encounters were recorded in expedition journals, the specifics of how Inuit expertise informed maritime safety have not been fully investigated.
This project focuses on Arctic shipping incidents and Inuit-ship interactions between 1820 and 1878, a period rich with documented exploration and Inuit oral histories. By analyzing these accounts, the research will shed light on historical knowledge exchange and offer enduring lessons for navigating the Arctic safely today.
