Polar Code

The International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, known as the Polar Code, is the IMO's dedicated regime for the particular hazards of the Arctic and Antarctic. Operating a ship in polar waters is fundamentally different from trading in temperate seas: there is sea ice and the risk of collision with it, extreme cold that can affect equipment, machinery and the crew, long periods of darkness, poor charting in some areas, unreliable communications and navigation, and great distance from search-and-rescue and pollution-response resources. At the same time, the polar environment is exceptionally fragile and slow to recover from damage. The Polar Code responds to both the added danger and the added environmental sensitivity.

Made mandatory through amendments to SOLAS for safety and MARPOL for environmental protection, the code has two main parts. The safety part addresses ship design, construction and equipment for cold and ice, stability and subdivision in ice conditions, machinery, fire safety, life-saving appliances and survival equipment suited to a polar rescue, safety of navigation, and voyage planning. Ships intended for polar service must carry a Polar Ship Certificate and a Polar Water Operational Manual describing their capabilities and limitations, and their crews must have appropriate training and experience for ice operations. The environmental part sets stricter rules on discharges of oil, noxious liquids, sewage and garbage in polar waters.

The Polar Code assigns ships to categories according to the ice conditions they are built to handle, which relates closely to their ice class. It complements rather than replaces the general conventions, adding a layer of requirements on top of the normal safety and pollution rules for the specific challenges of high latitudes. As diminishing sea ice opens new routes and increases traffic in the Arctic, and as expedition and cargo activity continues in both polar regions, the Polar Code has become the key framework for conducting these voyages safely and with minimal harm to a uniquely vulnerable environment.