The new standards apply to fishing vessels with a length of 24 meters or more, yachts of 300 gross register tons or more, and freighters displacing between 300 and 500 gross register tons. The amendments have been introduced in Chapter XIV of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code), according to the Russian Register of Maritime Shipping.

While navigating Arctic waters outside the external boundary of a territorial sea of the ship’s flag state, as well as Antarctica, these vessels should meet navigational equipment standards, trip-planning standards and ship operation and maintenance documenting procedures.

The amendments stipulate requirements regarding the provision of updated information about the ice situation, ensuring unimpeded aft observation from the deck-bridge, the use of antenna de-icing systems, radio and navigational equipment, systems for protecting sensors (that protrude from the hull) from ice formations, the installation of two searchlights for detecting ice formations, two non-magnetic systems for determining and displaying a ship’s course and a GLONASS compass for vessels sailing above 80-degree latitudes.

Operational vessels should meet these requirements by January 1, 2027. New ships, built after January 1, 2026, shall be covered by them following the latter’s enactment. Multiple structural requirements also apply to these vessels. The Polar Code states expressly that A and B category vessels, as well as ships of the highest ice class, should have enclosed bridge wings.

The amendments stipulate ample opportunities for implementing alternative solutions at the discretion of the flag state in those cases when it is impossible to meet the relevant requirements aboard any specific vessel.