Arctic Council states must lead on strengthening Arctic shipping rules

WWF

October 17, 2014 — Arctic states and Arctic Council observer states must step up at their meeting next week to address the shortfall in Arctic shipping rules. The states should show their determination to act as a group in strengthening the Polar Code, rules being negotiated for polar shipping. A negotiating session on the Code ends today in London.  The current shortcomings of the Code leave Arctic people and nature vulnerable to the impacts of Arctic shipping.
 
WWF expects that the Council will take the opportunity presented by a Senior Arctic Officials meeting next week in Yellowknife to discuss an effective response to the Polar Code shortcomings.
 
Quote
“The gaps in this agreement pose unacceptable risks to northern Canadian communities, economies, and ecosystems.  Canada has some of the strongest regulations for Arctic shipping, and must ensure that the Polar Code matches these high standards.  The impacts of incidents that happen outside of Canadian waters – including oil spills and major releases of pollutants – will affect Canadian peoples and species.”
– David Miller, President and CEO, WWF-Canada
 
Current Polar Code Omissions
Heavy fuel oil is currently used to fuel ships operating in the Arctic and is transported for onshore usage, accidents can result in very polluting spills devastating local environments. The use and carriage of heavy fuel oil is already banned in the Antarctic, but not in the Arctic. Tens of thousands of tonnes of heavy fuel oil have been spilled from a single ship in previous accidents.
 
Other current omissions from the code include:

  • The environmental and climatic impact of ship air pollution including black carbon emissions is not addressed
  • The prevention of the introduction of non-native/invasive species through ballast water discharges and hull fouling is not addressed in a specific polar context
  • The impact on marine animals of underwater noise is not addressed 

For more information:
Riannon John
[email protected]
416-347-1894