Msnbc reports, the search for the Northwest Passage was once the preserve of explorers hoping to find a lucrative new trade route linking Europe with the Far East.

Now the decline in the amount of ice in the Arctic Ocean is turning their failed dream into a reality.

Between 1906 and 2006 only 69 ships made the journey but in 2009 alone 24 vessels made the journey, according to Canadian maritime law expert Michael Byers, Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper reported. more »