Icebergs in the North Atlantic

The North Atlantic is the main shipping route between Europe and North America because it is the fastest route between the two areas. If icebergs clog the route, shipping costs and times go up. Currently, there are now 481 icebergs parked in the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic. That is a lot more than normal and they have built up quite rapidly. “As of March 27 we had only tracked 37 icebergs into the transatlantic shipping lanes in the 2017 ice season. One week later, on April 3 we had 455,” says Coast Guard Commander Gabrielle McGrath, the head of the International Ice Patrol. “We’re now at 481 at this point.” Usually, by the end of April there are a little over two hundred. A number close to 500 is not seen until late August.