(www.MaritimeCyprus.com)Â From 1 January 2026, the new IMO Polar Code amendments linked to safety and voyage planning will come into force. The amendments to the Polar Code were adopted through the IMO Resolution MSC.538(107) in June 2023.
What is the IMO Polar Code?
It is a mandatory framework established to ensure safe ship operations and prevent pollution in the polar regions since it presents harsh weather with low temperatures, strong winds, icebergs, remote locations, which limit search and rescue and a lack of accurate charts and hydrographic data.
Ships built after this date must comply immediately and the compliance date for ships built before is 1 January 2027.
The new amendments to the Polar Code are in Chapter 9 on Safety, Chapter 11 on Voyage planning.
The modifications include navigational equipment, ice detection, detailed voyage plans with places of refuge and so on.
These amendments are operationally tailored to polar conditions with the goal of increasing global safety as shipping is growing in these ice-covered regions.
Read more on Polar requirements HERE
Source: IMO
