* Sub-program I: Natural conditions and ice navigation
* Sub-program II: Environmental Factors
* Sub-program III: Trade and commercial shipping aspects of the NSR
* Sub-program IV: Political, legal and strategic factors
The results of these individual research topics were submitted as discussion papers to FNI, which served as the secretariat for INSROP. Specialists not affiliated with INSROP then deliberated on and evaluated these papers and suggested revisions, either in writing or verbally. With the comments of committee members and the original authors newly incorporated in the documents, these papers were then published as INSROP working papers.
With the ardent support of the Nippon Foundation, the individual research results in Phase I were announced at a symposium in Tokyo in October 1995 called IST '95, "Northern Sea Route: Future and Perspective." International leaders in each field were invited to attend, and the event succeeded in raising the profile of the NSR project.
In August 1996 INSROP conducted an experimental voyage of the NSR with the Kandalaksha, an icebreaking cargo ship owned by the Murmansk Shipping Co. (MSC). This vessel was able to traverse the distance from Yokohama to the Norwegian port of Kirkenes in surprisingly short order without incident. The voyage succeeded in verifying the essential viability of the NSR, provided an opportunity to examine certain problems with NSR navigation and deepened researchers' understanding of the Arctic Ocean.
The plan for INSROP Phase II was executed over the 1997 and 1998 fiscal years, under the supervision of the International Evaluating Committee. During this time the following actions were taken:
* Supplementation of the activities in Phase I
* Integration and collation of the results of INSROP activities
* Upgrading and extension of INSROP GIS
The research results were integrated and collated by three editors, one from each participating country, and published as INSROP working Paper No. 167, "The Challenges of the Northern Sea Route-Interplay between Natural and Societal Factors." A team of 12 writers contributed the following six chapters, organizing the INSROP results according to fields of specialization.
1. Historical and geopolitical context of the Northern Sea Route: Lessons to be considered
2. The natural environment, ice navigation and ship technology
3. Environmental assessment
4. Economy and commercial viability
5. Military, political, legal and human affairs
6. The multiple realities of the NSR: geographical hot and cool spots of navigation
At the very least, INSROP GIS boasts content of an excellence far beyond any similar system, existing or under development. Even so, some critical data are missing. These data should be obtained as quickly as possible through further international collaborative research.
Specialists from within and outside INSROP carried out the NSR operation simulation as a group research effort. Overviews of several designs for NSR vessels were conceived and run through simulations on PCs to assess the economic viability of NSR navigation of each ship design under each of several modes of operation and for each sea and section of sea in the NSR, taking into account factors such as navigational support infrastructure, type of freight and forecasts of freight movement, environmental impact and tariffs.
A total of 390 researchers from 14 countries took part in the INSROP project, generating some 167 working papers, including those prepared in Phase II.
