CHURCHILL, Man. — The most direct route for a laden cargo ship to get from here to the some major European markets is clear across the North Pole.

Sound crazy? It’s not; and shipping via the top of the world might be the route of choice sooner than you think.

It’s got to do with Arctic warming and the changing nature of the arctic ice caps. The ice up north is reportedly melting faster than previously believed. Fifteen years ago, 80 percent of the Arctic was covered in ice too thick to navigate through. Now it’s around 17 percent, according to geological and transportation experts.

They predict that several pan-arctic routes could be open to shipping as early as the middle of this century.

The revamped bulk shipping lanes will have major implications for how trucks are routed throughout North America because, for instance, the freight would start arriving in such places as Churchill, Man., and then would have to be trucked or trained to market from there.

The research has been going on for years but most recently, a trio of geographers at the UCLA have released a study of Arctic ice melting patterns based on a climate model developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

The result: Three major Arctic shipping lanes will be open from July to September by the middle of this century. The three are the North East Passage, which traces the northern coast of Russia; the Arctic Bridge, going from Churchill to Murmanks Russia via the east coast of Greenland, and the North Pole Route.

The Arctic Bridge route is already open.

Ironically, the historical and much-sought-after Northwest Passage is unlikely to be open because of the incredibly complicated archipelago of land masses involved; plus the study shows it will only be 82 percent open.

According to the Globe and Mail, countries are already preparing for the changed shipping routes. South Korea recently built an icebreaker. Chinese researchers are working alongside Canadian scientists in the North. And in Manitoba, the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation and Winnipeg’s CentrePort are envisioning a future where Manitoba serves as the central hub of North America’s freight transportation system.

Also, the Globe reports that David Barber, a professor at the University of Manitoba and Canada Research Chair in Arctic Systems Science, says the UCLA study might be conservative.

“People argue right now the North East Passage is already open. I would say you’ll be able to use the over-the-pole route very soon as well.”