ICS, IMO to Discuss Sustainability and Shipping in Arctic

At a major Summit in Oslo on 5 June, the Board of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is meeting with political leaders from major shipping nations and the Secretary General of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) to discuss sustainability and shipping in the Arctic. The objective is to create a dynamic arena for dialogue between policy makers and the shipping industry.

The Summit is being hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA), in conjunction with the ICS Annual General Meeting.

Nowhere else are the effects of climate change seen so quickly and clearly as in the Arctic. The fast melting ice comes with concerns and challenges, but also with new opportunities for the international maritime industry.

There are in particular three development areas that are of special interest to the international shipping industry: energy extraction at sea, destination shipping to Arctic ports and intercontinental transits via Northern sea routes.

Common to all three is that these operations take place under extremely challenging weather and working conditions, where operational expertise, technology and quality in all links of the value chain are essential. Sustainable use of Arctic waters is very important and more demanding than anywhere else.

To be on top of these challenges, it is important that governments and the industry share a common understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the Arctic, the three hosts agree and add:

-As activity in these areas are on the rise, policy makers and the industry need to cooperate and act together in order to take advantage of the opportunities in a responsible and sustainable manner.

The Summit will discuss the importance of Governments and industry working together to ensure that a draft mandatory IMO Polar Code is finalized and implemented by Governments, as soon as possible, in order to help ensure safe navigation and environmental protection in Arctic waters, as the volume of shipping in the region increases. The Summit will also discuss the importance of Arctic shipping being regulated within the framework of existing international maritime Conventions, including those adopted by the IMO and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Both the NSA and the ICS have recently issued respectively a report and a position paper on the Arctic which are available to the press.

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NSA, May 31, 2013