This is a part of the Maritime Commons blog-post series on the process forward for adopting a Polar Code for ships operating in Arctic and Antarctic waters. Thursday, the Coast Guard hosted a workshop on the Polar Code in Seattle. For those of you who could not attend, Maritime Commons is providing key an after-action blog post for each of the Coast Guard spokespersons that presented at the workshop.
Maritime Commons attended the International Maritime Organization’s Polar Code Workshop in Seattle.
The workshop was held to provide detailed information and updates pertaining to the Polar Code. The code is in process to become a mandatory code for Safety of Life at Sea, or SOLAS, certified ships over 500 GT and vessels with 12 or more passengers.
“We encourage comments which will be used to inform the U.S. position going into IMO meetings later this fall and spring,” said Capt. John Mauger, chief of the Coast Guard’s Office of Design and Engineering Standards.
All materials related to the Polar Code are located in public docket USCG-2014-0515. Docket items available for viewing include the draft Polar Code and public comments. Additionally, presentations from the Polar Code workshop will be posted to the docket. The docket will be open for comment until September 1, 2014.
For those of you who couldn’t make the event, Maritime Commons will provide the after-action reports on what was covered by Coast Guard spokespersons.
Over the next week, Maritime Commons will cover the following:
• Polar Code status and overview: Lt. Andrew Gibbons, Coast Guard Office of Design and Engineering Standards
• U.S. Coast Guard regional perspectives: Lcdr. Jason Boyle, District 17 Prevention
• Polar Code and other international governances: Cmdr. Marc Zlomek, Department of State
• Review of the environmental considerations: Mr. Wayne Lundy, U.S. Coast Guard office of design and engineering standards
• Q&A: Capt. John Mauger, chief of Coast Guard Office of Design and Engineering Standards and Lt. Gibbons
In addition to Coast Guard spokespersons, the following speakers presented information on the Polar Code:
• History of the development: Retired Coast Guard Capt. Lawson Brigham, University of Alaska Fairbanks
• Industry regional perspectives: Capt. Scott Craig, Crowley Maritime Corp
• Ship design and construction: John Dolny, American Bureau of Shipping
Subscribe to Maritime Commons to read these, and other, posts on the Polar Code. View the docket to view other Polar Code information.
This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.