IRSO Polar Code workshop

Per W. Nieuwejaar

Director IMR RV Department

IRSO 2017, Yokosuka

17-19 October 2017

IMO Polar Code

IRSO Polar code workshop• Held in the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation

(CMRE) in Muggiano, Italy on 26-27 April 2017

• Approx 40 attendees from USA, Japan, Norway, France, Finland, Italy,

New Zealand, UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark and Spain

• No mobile phones or internet connections allowed.

A smash hit! Everybody paid attention all the time!

Wednesday 26 April Part 1 - 0830-0900 Part 2 - 0900-0930 Part 3 - 0930-1000 1000-1030

Responsible CMRE Per W. Nieuwejaar Johnny Hansen CMRE

Wednesday 26 April Part 5 - 1200 - 1300 1300 - 1400 1530 - 1600

Responsible

Session chair Karl Robert Røttingen CMRE CMRE

Thursday 27 April 1000 -1030 1300 - 1400

Responsible CMRE CMRE

Outline program for Polar Code workshop

26-27 April 2017

Coffee

Part 8a - 0830-1000

Session chair - Greg Foothead, NIWA

PC workshop agenda,

Introduction to PC

Arctic

experienceRegistration, Welcome/Opening

remarks, Admin information

Part 4a - 1030 - 1130

Ch 3 Ship structure, Ch 4 Stability and sub-division, Ch 5 Watertight and

Weather tight integrity, Ch 6 Machinery installations

Session chair Øystein Mikelborg, NP

LunchPart II-A Pollution Prevention

Ch 10 Communication,

Ch 12 Manning and

training

Part 7b - 1700 -1730

PC certification Pelagia? -

Erica Koning

Part 9 - 1245 -1300

Per W. Nieuwejaar

Part 4b -1130 - 1200

RV Aranda upgrade -

Jukka Pajala

Session chair Dirk Kristensen

Part 6 - 1400 - 1530

Ch 7 Fire Safety/Protection, Ch 8 Life saving

Appliances and Arrangement, Ch 9 Safety of

navigation

Session chair - Erica Koning, NIOZ

Coffee

Part 7a - 1600 -1700

Session chair - Greg Foothead, NIWA

Summing up, End of PC

Workshop

Lunch,

Bus to

Muggiano

Part 8b 1030-1245

Ch 2 Polar Water Operations Manual, Ch 11 Voyage

planningCoffee

PWOM - Kronprins Haakon - Øysein & Karl Robert,

PWOMs Pourquoi pas?, L'Atalante and Thalassa - Remy Balcon

Emergency response planning -Greg Foothead

Many thanks to Ian Sage, Yves Perron, and in particular Ms Natalina Arena

for all the preparations and hospitality!

IRSO Polar Code workshop 2017 @ NATO CMRE

PC workshop visit on board the «Kronprins Haakon» under construction

in Muggiano

Key findings from the PC workshop

• IMO Polar Code is developed primarily for vessels navigating from point A to point B in areas

where they may hit on ice, not research vessels operating in the ice and sometimes with

personnel and equipment on the ice. See next slide for more details

• To find Polar Service Temperature (PST) based on 10 years average Mean Daily Low

Temperature (MDLT) turns out to be very difficult since no met-office can provide such data for

most parts of the Arctic and Antarctic waters! So you have to define the PST yourself, based on

where you plan to sail and at what time of the year.

• To meet the Polar Code requirements for Category C vessels

(vessels operating in open water) is not very difficult for ships built for winter conditions in the first

place.

• In addition, by defining PST for each vessel and time of year it is allowed to work in «PC areas» in

the Arctic and/or Antarctica the level of «Polar Code capabilities» can be tailored to each vessel’s

technical capabilities and operational needs.

E.g. if you only plan to sail in Arctic waters between May and September and that the vessel’s

Polar Water Operations Manual (PWOM) instructs the captain to avoid areas where there are any

chance of meeting drifting ice or the ice edge, there is not much more you need to do!

• Not all maritime equipment on the market is compliant with the Polar Code.

E.g. lifeboats are usually designed for 24 hours endurance, while the PC says 5 days.

Some navigation lights are not certified for PST -35°C.

• This means extra costs and need for exemptions from Class,

in particular for Category A- vessels (Icegoing ships)

• Workshop documents can be dowloaded from Drop Box:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wrj2adymjp2q7qj/AAAEnqTdTn5Icigv3xe4W5ota?dl=0

Safety

• One of the most challenging topics is safety measures for the vessel, crew and

science party when operating in ice covered waters in very remote areas, in

particular in the winter season.

• The PC says a bit about equipment needed (individual and group emergency kits),

but not much practical advice about how to survive over a period of time and how to

plan & prepare for emergencies far away from everything!

• There are a fair amount of accumulated cooperate and personal knowledge and

experience within the IRSO community from summer and winter operations in both

Antarctica and the Arctic.

It is of the utmost importance that such knowledge and experience is shared among

interested parties, trough work shops, personal contacts, sharing of documents and

reporting to groups such as IRSO about splendid new ideas, spectacular failures and

other lessons learned!

Ongoing PC activities (as far as I know!)

• France: Porquis Pas?, L’Atlante and Thalassa (Cat C vessels) all have their

PWOM approved since early 2017

• Germany: Maria S. Merian and Heincke will be PC certified starting in October 2017

and completing in 2019/20

• USA: ONR vessels «Sally Ride» and Neil Armstrong» to be PC certified.

• Norway: Technical preparations and PWOM development for «G.O. Sars»,

«Johan Hjort» and «Kristine Bonnevie» (Cat C vessels), and

PWOM development and life boat modifications for «Kronprins Haakon»

• NATO: Preparing «Alliance» for PC compliance (not certification) before Arctic

cruise in 2018

• Denmark: Well ahead on developing and testing their PWOM on board RV «Dana»

Another IRSO PC workshop in 2018?

• Since many IRSO members are working on the implementation

of the Polar Code, both Cat A and C vessels, it may be

beneficial to arrange a second IRSO PC workshop in the spring

of 2018?

• If someone wants to «step up to the plate» and host the

workshop, please step forward!

• If no one else is able, IMR can try to arrange it in Tromsø,

Norway when «kronprins Haakon» is scheduled to be in port in

Tromsø

Questions?