Glacier ice is part of the eccentricities that dominate Dubai, and this object appears in the exclusive bars of the city. The glacier cubes are imported by a company from Greenland, which adds a touch of eccentricity to some gastronomic hotspots that fits perfectly with the United Arab Emirates.
Although this company tried to export this material, it was unsuccessful in other countries until, from the United Arab Emirates, they chose to incorporate it into their restaurants and bars. This company is called Arctic Ice and was founded by Malik V Rasmussen in 2022, who decided to seek alternative resources for sales beyond fishing and tourism in his country.
How the transfer of glacier ice to Dubai was carried out
Arctic Ice made its first shipment to Dubai in January 2024, generating great impact. As confirmed on their official website, 20 metric tons of ice were sent at the beginning of this year. According to the company, “Arctic ice is obtained directly from the natural glaciers of the Arctic that have been frozen for more than 100,000 years.”
The process takes place in the fjords of Greenland, where the company extracts this material. As revealed, these fjords are surrounded by icebergs that break off from the glaciers and are collected by Arctic Ice with a ship equipped with a crane that looks for a specific type of ice, which must not come into contact with the bottom or the surface of the glacier.
This is the glacier transportation process that generated criticism.
The process of searching for this portion of glacier is very sophisticated and has several stages that must be managed. In this case, the company uses its vessel to travel to Nuup Kangerlua, the fjord surrounding the capital of Greenland, Nuuk. Once there, they focus on searching for this specific type of material, which is very difficult to detect in the water because it is very transparent. After finding the piece, they lift it with a crane and place it in a plastic box until the ship is full. Once the container is full, it is transported to Denmark and then loaded onto another ship that takes it to Dubai, where it is finally sold.
According to Malik V Rasmussen, co-founder of the company, this glacier ice has different properties than the already known types because it “has been compressed for millennia and lacks bubbles.” As the expert revealed, it melts more slowly than regular ice and is offered in a purer state than the frozen mineral water typically used in ice cubes.
The glacier ice company that faced controversies
Once this process was known, environmentalists sparked fierce criticism for the commercialization of this natural asset, which could cause harm to the balance of the environment. However, representatives from Arctic Ice addressed these claims, asserting that the process is environmentally friendly and that it is fully permitted to carry out.
One of the main founders of the company referred to these claims and shared his vision for the company, suggesting that their policies do not affect the environment at all. The initial goal of Arctic Ice is to “create new sources of income for Greenland,” as it is a territory that depends entirely on Denmark. The country derives most of its earnings from fishing and tourism, so this alternative ice export adds another natural resource that can be utilized to access diverse markets.
