ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the needs for and challenges in assessing risk in the Arctic and reflects on the risk patterns in different regions of the Atlantic Arctic. Various theories and approaches of risk assessment are discussed. Partly as a result, the transport pattern has changed with more traffic in remote areas. This change could increase the risk of accidents. The typical marine activities, type of vessels, and the method of risk matrices compilation are described and discussed. As marine accidents in the Arctic are rare, there are limited statistics available; therefore, in this study, mostly qualitative analysis and expert judgement have been the basis for the risk assessments. It is very important to learn from the previous accidents and search and rescue exercises and make information about them not only available, but accessible and interesting. To realize this task, the online resource was created, showing the events on the map with links to detailed information, and this is described in the chapter. For emergency response development, an assessment of the risk on the regional level with Regional Risk Index calculation on the base of risk matrices is suggested. The implications for preparedness system improvement are discussed in the final part.
