The Arctic region is sometimes described as an area  of geopolitical competition and boundary disputes. However, in terms of maritime claims, such portrayals are misleading. Our examination of maritime boundaries in the Arctic, maritime claims and extended continental shelf submissions in the central Arctic Ocean, shows that the Arctic is a space where states have settled disputes before real conflict could emerge. In that sense, the Arctic is arguably an ocean apart and the case of the Arctic can be of broader relevance regarding maritime disputes uin other regional contexts.