Is the IMO’s Polar Code fit for purpose?

WWF has a vision for improving the International Maritime Organization’s International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters. SIAN PRIOR outlines a short history of the code and explains some of the key challenges and gaps in implementing it.

More than 15 years ago, the MS Explorer ran into hard ice while cruising in the Antarctic peninsula and started taking on water. Fortunately, the 154 passengers and crew made it onto lifeboats and were rescued by another cruise ship before the ship sank.

This was just one of a spate of shipping accidents in the Arctic and Antarctic that led the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to begin developing a new code to ensure that ships operating in polar regions would do so safely and with minimum impact on ecosystems. The International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, better known as the Polar Code, took effect in January 2017 and applies to cargo ships weighing 500 gross tonnes or more and all passenger ships.

Since the Polar Code was adopted, attention has turned to the need to extend safety measures to fishing vessels, cargo ships weighing 500 gross tonnes or less, and pleasure yachts (essentially, all non-SOLAS vessels, meaning those not covered by the Safety of Life at Sea Convention). The IMO recently adopted guidelines on safety for fishing vessels and pleasure yachts and is due to adopt new measures on navigation and voyage planning, which will take effect starting in January 2026.

Ensuring regulation keeps pace with shipping

But over the last decade, as Arctic sea ice has diminished, interest in shipping in the Arctic and the Antarctic has grown—and so have the threats and risks associated with this activity, including black carbon emissions, waste discharge, underwater noise and oil spills. Between 2013 and 2019, the number of ships operating in the Arctic increased by 25 per cent and the distance they travelled increased by 75 per cent. Most are fishing vessels, but there are also more oil tankers and bulk carriers (exporting mining ores) in the Arctic. The distance sailed by bulk carriers has risen by as much as 160 per cent.

In 2021, WWF’s Arctic Programme commissioned a review and analysis of the experience gained since the Polar Code was implemented. The aim was to assess the challenges experienced in implementing the code and identify gaps in the code. The analysis identified a wide range of challenges and gaps in areas like certifying ships that operate in polar waters, validating the guidance to determine the safety of ships in various ice conditions, and accessing data about ice conditions, air temperatures and hydrography. The review also uncovered a number of challenges related to voyage planning.

For more details about WWF’s priorities for ships operating in the Arctic, see our Review of Perceived Gaps and Challenges in the Implementation of the Polar Code.

Questioning whether the Polar Code does its job

Given that polar shipping is likely to keep increasing, it is clearly time to consider whether the Polar Code is still fit for purpose. Although it’s important to address all the issues, WWF has identified priority areas where stronger regulations would benefit Arctic wildlife and communities. These include making improvements to polar voyage planning, expanding the code to cover all vessels, and eliminating all polluting discharges—including atmospheric emissions—in polar environments.

WWF has created a variety of resources to support polar voyage planning. It has also developed a blueprint for a network of priority areas for protection. Work is underway to review and overhaul its Mariners’ Guides, with updated versions due to be published in 2023. Other work focuses on introducing mandatory and voluntary shipping measures at the domestic level.

But more action is needed within international frameworks, including at the IMO.

Time for action is here

The single most urgent need is for a thorough review of the challenges of implementing the Polar Code. The review should pinpoint where amendments or improvements to the code are needed and address gaps in polar protection. The findings from WWF’s work on this issue could support such a review.

Secondly, there is a need for better awareness of the importance of voyage planning in polar waters, not to mention better guidance. Access to data about ice conditions, temperatures, hydrographics, marine mammal populations and migration routes needs improving. In addition, safety measures that are routinely applied to passenger and cargo ships must apply to all vessels in polar waters, especially fishing vessels, which make up a large component of the Arctic fleet.

Finally, all polluting discharges and emissions from ships in Arctic waters should be eliminated, particularly those that accelerate the climate crisis, such as black carbon.

Arctic shipping is increasing, and every incident could have irreversible consequences—so the time to make changes to the Polar Code is now. These changes could go a long way toward protecting the fragile Arctic marine environment and the wildlife and communities who call it home.