The International Maritime Organisation signed off on a US-Russian plan to route ships through the Bering Strait.
The two countries made the proposal to establish six new two-way routes and six precautionary areas in the region straddled by Alaska and eastern Siberia.
The plan, which applies to vessels above 400 gross tonnes, would help ships avoid shoals, reefs and islands outside the routes and to reduce the potential for marine casualties and environmental disasters, the US Coast Guard said.
