As sea ice melts further in the Arctic, the U.S. Coast Guard anticipates an increase in shipping in the extreme north of the American continent, with plans to install a base next spring near Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in continental North America. Already there has been an increase in cruise ship traffic during the summer months in a region once the exclusive preserve of icebreakers. Increasingly long periods of open waters could also see commercial shipping using the route through the Bering Strait, connecting Europe with Asia and lopping thousands of miles off the traditional route via the Panama and Suez Canals.