Why German U-boats could not use the Arctic passages

Did the Kriegsmarine have useful charts or submarines for an Arctic passage in 1944?

The answer is no: the panel says useful charts were unavailable and that even sufficient range would not solve the boats' lack of under-ice capability.

The panel rejects the idea that useful charts made a German Northwest or Northeast Passage transit realistic in 1944. Most wartime U-boats are described as submersible torpedo boats, with limited ability to remain submerged. Even the more advanced late-war designs are judged suitable for operations near the ice edge rather than beneath an ice cap. Solving the range question alone would therefore leave the main under-ice operating problem unresolved.