Canada sends two icebreaker ships to map the seabed of the Arctic in a bid to prove that the country's continental shelf extends beneath the North Pole so they can claim oil and natural gas reserves in the region.

The first icebreaker left St John's, Newfoundland, on Friday, while the second left on Saturday for a six week mission following the Lomonosov ridge, which spans Ellesmere Island in Canada to the North Pole.

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The US Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic has an estimated 13 percent of Earth's undiscovered oil and about 30 percent of Earth's natural gas reserves.

Russia and Denmark are also seeking ownership of the Pole.

Canada applied in December to the United Nations to be formally recognized as the owner of the region, but the U.N requires substantive evidence beyond 200 nautical miles for an area to be considered claimed based on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The country had spent over a decade researching its eastern and northern seabeds in an effort to build their claim.

All three countries are trying to understand the Lomonosov Ridge better so they can use it as their primary evidence when they file for formal recognition at the U.N.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is not using rhetoric to divert attention away from Canada's true motive.

"Our government is committing the resources necessary to ensure that Canada secures international recognition of the full extent of its continental shelf, including the North Pole," Baird said in a statement.

The claims have been around for over a decade. In an effort to bolster a 2001 claim, Russia descended to the seafloor of the North Pole in 2007 and planted a small Russian flag.

The Canadian government outfitted the icebreaker ships with cutting edge sonar equipment to beat out the other countries' U.N. applications with more accurate data.

Tagsnorth pole, Russia, Arctic