After a successful approval process and survey, DNV GL and the Norwegian Maritime Directorate have issued the first polar ship certificate to the Norwegian platform survey vessel M/V Stril Polar owned by Simon Møkster Shipping AS, DNV GL said in its press release.
The goal of the newly adopted IMO Polar Code is to ensure a minimum standard for ships entering into the Arctic waters and/or Antarctica.
The code is an international set of rules that take into account the extreme conditions and the additional challenges vessels encounter in these areas.
The M/V Polar Stril is built for operation in cold climates; therefore only minor adjustments were needed to achieve compliance with the Polar Code. The process of achieving compliance required DNV GL to undertake a risk assessment of the planned operational profile, as well as detailed review of the vessel’s equipment to ensure that the requirements of the code were met.
As a result, no deviations from the code were found during DNV GL’s inspection of the vessel together with the Norwegian Maritime Directorate in November, and M/V Stril Polar is now the first Norwegian ship with a Polar Code certification.
The IMO Polar Code is mandatory for all new SOLAS-registered ships that will be operating in Arctic and Antarctic waters as of 1. January 2017. For existing ships, the Polar Code certification is required after the first intermediate or renewal inspection after 1. January 2018. The polar code is a supplementary regulation to the existing IMO codes where the main requirements are related to safety (SOLAS) and the protection of the environment (MARPOL). DNV GL can, on behalf of the Flag States, issue Polar code certificates for ships that meet the code requirements.