The Polar Code vs The International Safety Management Code: Do We Need Both?

This chapter deals with safety in the arctic waters and considers whether the existing regulatory framework is sufficient to prevent accidents. The chapter takes UNCLOS as a regulatory framework as the starting point and moves on to examine more detailed legislation in the Polar Code and the ISM Code. The chapter examines the subject matter of the Polar Code and questions what types of problems is it intended to solve and to whom is it addressed? To answer these questions, the chapter explores whether the Polar Code contributes with new regulation; or whether is it only a detailed appendix of what is already required by the ISM Code. As a regulation, does the Polar Code contribute to increasing safety and ensuring safe ship operation in the Arctic areas in a way the ISM Code does not? If so, can the Polar Code prevent accidents, such as the one in the MV Explorer incident, in a way that would not otherwise be possible?.