Polar Code

As shipping in the polar regions increases, a robust Polar Code is essential to prevent accidents, incidents and irreversible damage to fragile polar ecosystems.

Join ASOC as we push for the strongest possible protections for the Southern Ocean, its ecosystems, and the people who work there.

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The Polar Code is the first mandatory, international maritime agreement developed for the polar region. It aims to ensure safe shipping and avoid environmental damage in the remote and sensitive polar regions.

Adopted by the members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the auspices of the United Nations, the Polar Code entered into force in January 2017.

The Polar Code introduced legally-binding safety and pollution-prevention measures for cruise ships and large cargo ships (over 500 gross tons) in polar waters.

While ASOC welcomed the mandatory measures introduced in the Polar Code, there is still work to be done.

There are multiple gaps in the existing Polar Code. Untreated gray water can be legally dumped anywhere in the Southern Ocean, underwater noise is largely unregulated, and the mandatory safety measures within the Polar Code only apply to half of the vessels operating there.

As shipping traffic increases and industries such as Antarctic krill fishing and tourism continue to expand, there is also a growing risk of accidents and incidents that could cause harm to both humans and the environment.

POLAR CODE

We need a stronger Polar Code

The current Polar Code does not provide adequate protection for human lives or the polar environment.

Join ASOC as we push for safety measures for all forms of shipping in polar waters, including fishing vessels and pleasure yachts.

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Polar Code infographic prepared by ASOC and the WWF.

The mandatory safety measures in the Polar Code cover ship design, construction, equipment, operational training, search and rescue and fire safety. However, when the Polar Code entered into force these measures only applied to cruise ships and large cargo ships (also known as SOLAS ships).

This left more than 50% of shipping traffic in the Southern Ocean at higher risk, including all fishing vessels, pleasure yachts and smaller cargo ships (non-SOLAS ships*). These vessels are particularly vulnerable to accidents in the polar regions, and have a much higher incidence of fatalities than SOLAS ships.

Extending these safety measures to non-SOLAS ships is a necessary second phase of the Polar Code to protect both human lives and the environment.

Learn more about the gaps and challenges facing the Polar Code in this briefing from Sian Prior, lead shipping advisor to ASOC.

*Non-SOLAS vessels are not covered by the SOLAS Convention (apart from Chapter V, which concerns navigation).

Since 2015 ASOC, as a member of the Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) delegation to the IMO*, has been working to highlight the importance of implementing phase 2 of the Polar Code.

Between 2016 and 2019 ASOC regularly reported on accidents and incidents in the polar regions, maintaining pressure on IMO Members to introduce mandatory, legally-binding safety measures for non-SOLAS vessels (fishing vessels, pleasure yachts and small cargo vessels) in Antarctic waters.

Download small vessel incidents infographic.

*Other environmental non-governmental groups, which ASOC and FOEI collaborated with on this work include Pacific Environment, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Through the efforts of ASOC and with the support of several polar countries, most notably New Zealand, Canada and Iceland, two new sets of voluntary safety guidelines have now been established for non-SOLAS vessels. Adopted by the IMO in 2021, they should be applied to fishing vessels and pleasure yachts operating in polar waters.

ASOC advocates for these voluntary guidelines to be made into mandatory regulations. This will ensure consistent adoption among all vessels and allow Antarctic Treaty parties and flag states to enforce compliance.

Vessel in water — Vessel in Antarctic waters

In addition to new voluntary safety guidelines for non-SOLAS vessels, in June 2023 the IMO adopted mandatory provisions on safe navigation and voyage planning for all non-SOLAS vessels.

These will take effect from January 2026, securing a higher level of safety for all vessels in the Southern Ocean, and reducing the likelihood of a critical incident requiring hazardous search and rescue efforts.

Read more about why we still need to strengthen the Polar Code in this article by Dr Sian Prior, lead shipping advisor to ASOC.

Carbon emissions and black carbon

If global shipping was a country it would be ranked fifth or sixth globally for CO₂ emissions, alongside Germany and Japan (2023).

When burning oil-based fossil fuels, shipping emits large quantities of carbon dioxide, black carbon (BC), sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide. The sector is now facing calls for rapid decarbonisation.

The 2011 ban on heavy fuel oil use and carriage in Antarctica was a positive step towards the reduction of black carbon, but it is not enough. A 2022 study published in nature.com found elevated concentrations of black carbon in the snow around popular Antarctic tourism sites and research stations, compared to other areas of Antarctica.

The increased amounts of black carbon were linked to more rapid snow melt and loss of snowpack in the affected areas.

ASOC is calling for further reductions in black carbon emissions through the use of technology such as particulate filters, which could virtually eliminate further damage from black carbon.

ASOC supports the efforts of Antarctic Treaty Parties to monitor the carbon footprint of Antarctic activities, including black carbon, with a view to systematically reducing carbon emissions and local black carbon pollution from all activities in the Antarctic.

Read the 2023 ASOC Information Paper: Improving Safety and Environmental Protection of Shipping in the Antarctic Treaty Area

Download black carbon infographic.

Waste-water disposal

ASOC supports a ban on discharge of untreated black water (sewage) and gray water (bath, shower, laundry and galley water).

Black water

Under the Polar Code, dumping of raw sewage is permitted beyond 12NM (13 miles) from land, ice shelves or fast ice, and as far as practicable from areas of sea ice concentration exceeding a density of one in ten. This could result in raw sewage being inadvertently dumped in a feeding ground for Antarctic wildlife. ASOC advocates for stronger regulations to protect vulnerable ecosystems, including no dumping of untreated sewage in the Southern Ocean.

Gray water

There are currently no restrictions on the dumping of gray water which often contains high levels of chemical detergents including nitrates and phosphates, heavy metals, fecal coliforms, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and microplastics.

ASOC is calling for the discharge of gray water to be regulated globally through the IMO’s MARPOL Convention with special restrictions provided for the Southern Ocean in the Polar Code.

Download gray water infographics.

Gray Water and Microplastics Pollution: The Problem & The Solution

Preventing invasive species

ASOC supports measures to prevent the introduction of non-native species via discharges of ballast water and fouling on vessel hulls.

In 2020, researchers identified 14 non-native species around the Antarctic Peninsula, both marine and terrestrial, and 13 more at high risk of invading the region.

Focus Area: Ballast water

Many ships carry ballast water in ballast tanks to help them remain stable, particularly when they are not carrying cargoes. Ballast water is pumped into tanks from the ocean and contains plants, small animals, viruses and bacteria, often from a range of ports and locations. When it is discharged in Antarctic waters it can introduce invasive aquatic species to fragile polar ecosystems.

The journey towards effective ballast water management in the Antarctic Treaty area has been a long one, which continues today.

Before 2017 there was effectively no regulation of ballast water exchange in the Antarctic Treaty Area. There was a suite of ‘recommendatory measures’ under the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention, which were reinforced in the Polar Code. Under these guidelines vessels were recommended to take measures to minimize the risk of invasive aquatic species through ships’ ballast water and biofouling.

These Guidelines were an effective stopgap, introducing a regional strategy with voluntary guidelines for ballast water exchange before entering the Antarctic Treaty Area.

The Ballast Water Management Convention, which finally took effect on 8th September, 2017, requires all ships to have a ship-specific Ballast Water Management Plan, a Ballast Water Record Book and an International Ballast Water Management Certificate (the Certificate applies only to ships of 400gt and above).

The provisions of the Convention will be phased in gradually over eight years. From 8 September 2024, all ships must meet an international standard which specifies the maximum number of viable organisms allowed to be discharged. In most cases this will require a ballast water management system to be installed.

View infographic on Complying with the Ballast Water Management Convention.

Learn more about the Ballast Water Management Convention, which came into force in September 2017.

Read the 2023 ASOC Information Paper: Improving Safety and Environmental Protection of Shipping in the Antarctic Treaty Area.

Preventing pollution

ASOC supports mandatory provisions to reduce underwater noise pollution, and stronger regulations to prevent pollution from marine and micro plastics, such as those found in gray water and antifouling paints as well as in abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG).

ASOC also advocates for tailored regulations for responding to an oil spill in the Southern Ocean. This includes mandatory equipment, training for crews, and a protocol for responding to oil spills.

Focus Area: Abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG)

To raise awareness of the threat and solutions to ALDFG in the Southern Ocean and further afield, ASOC has supported the preparation of two new infographics on the marking and reporting of ALDFG.

We support proposals by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) to facilitate the reporting of accidentally lost or discharged fishing gear, and the recommendation that IMO members introduce mandatory marking of fishing gear and reporting of losses.ASOC also submitted a paper at the annual CCAMLR meeting in 2022 to summarize recent developments at the IMO. ASOC called on CCAMLR to “contribute to the IMO’s work to ensure that a regulation is included in MARPOL Annex V on the marking of fishing gear and efforts to progress and finalize the work on mandatory reporting mechanisms for accidentally lost or discharged fishing gear.”

Read the 2023 ASOC Information Paper: Improving Safety and Environmental Protection of Shipping in the Antarctic Treaty Area

Download infographics:

Underwater noise

Many marine animals rely on sound to survive, using it to communicate, find food, avoid predators, and navigate. Underwater noise from shipping is increasingly recognized to have a significant impact on marine wildlife, causing stress and reducing their resilience to other threats.

The impact of underwater noise is amplified in the polar regions where historically there has been little shipping traffic, and ice cover can affect how the sound travels.

In 2014 the IMO developed non-mandatory guidelines to reduce the impact of underwater noise from shipping on marine animals, but found there was poor uptake of the guidelines.

Working with other environmental NGOs, ASOC contributed to a revision of the guidelines in 2023, and continues to pursue mandatory regulations, which will require ships to develop noise management plans and reduce the impact of ships operations on marine wildlife.

Read the 2023 ASOC Information Paper: Improving Safety and Environmental Protection of Shipping in the Antarctic Treaty Area.

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Into the future

Each year we are making progress towards a safer Polar Code.

Join ASOC as we continue to advocate for the strongest possible protections for the Southern Ocean, its ecosystems and the people who work there.

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Keep learning about the Polar Code at the links below.

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