Topic summary
Polar Code
Extracted from the Wikipedia article International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters.
Background
The Polar Code stems from previous IMO documents, including voluntary guidelines in both 2002 and 2010. As part of ongoing international work on the Polar Code, an IMO Workshop on the code's Environmental Aspects was held in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in September 2011. The report and some of the presentations from the workshop can be found on the IMO's website. In February 2012, the IMO's Marine Safety Committee ("MSC") released a report detailing progress on the Polar Code. As of 2012, the MSC "decided to keep any decision on environmental requirements to be included in the Code in abeyance, pending further consideration at DE 57 [2013]. However, agreement was subsequently reached and in November 2014, the Polar Code was approved by the MSC of the IMO and in May 2016, it was approved by the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the IMO. The Code entered into force on 1 January 2017.