Establishes New Forum for Arctic Shipping
Hurtigruten arriving at the port of Svolvær, Lofoten. (Photo: Anke Menge)
The shipping industry and the member states of the Arctic Council have established a new forum for shipping in the Arctic.
The shipping industry and the member states of the Arctic Council have established a new forum for shipping in the Arctic.
Yesterday, the first meeting of the new Arctic Shipping Best Practice Information Forum took place in London.
- The Arctic countries and the shipping industry want to facilitate secure and environmentally friendly shipping in the High North, and we believe the new forum may contribute to this, says Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Monica Mæland (Conservatives). (Norwegian only).
Following up the Polar Code
The forum has been established by the Arctic Council’s PAME working group (Protection of the Arctic Environment), following the Polar Code entering into force on 1 January 2017. The Polar Code is a globally binding regulation for ships sailing in Arctic and Antarctic waters. (Norwegian only).
- More than 80 percent of Arctic shipping today takes place in Norwegian waters. We thus have a particular responsibility for secure and environmentally friendly shipping in these areas, Minister Mæland says.
The forum allows the parties to share their experiences with the Polar Code. It aims to contribute to better practicing of the Polar Code on a global scale.
Wide international support
- The establishing of this forum is quite unique in an international context, and it comes as a result of good cooperation between the authorities, the industry and research environments, Mæland says.
The establishing of the Arctic Shipping Best Practice Information Forum is supported by the International Maritime Organisation, the International Chambers of Shipping as well as by major cruise operator organisations.