The new Polar Code

[SeaDog-46]

Anyone considering an Arctic or Antarctic cruise should be aware of the new IMO Polar Code that comes into full force on 1st Jan. 2022.

The code will effect all large cruise ships & current expedition vessels as they renew there 5 year certificates before 2022.

New buildings are built to the code & this is why many have delayed completion dates & are costing a lot more to build.

A few ships have had very expensive refits to meet the code requirements.

[donaldsc]

That will end all of the drive by cruises to Antarctica.

 

DON

[SeaDog-46]

Yes donaldsc - the end of Drive By cruises is in sight with the current cruise & expedition ships falling foul of the new rules as they go through there drydocking & certificate renewals.

Maybe the last ones are the 2 being done by Westerdam in January 2021.

 

One of the first of the new building expedition ships - Hanseatic Nature is currently sailing in Europe.

[SeaDog-46]

Russian owners have advised One Ocean Expeditions that 2 vessels they have on charter will NOT be available for 2019/2020 season.  Maybe this is because they have lost there Ice Class & do not comply with new Polar Code.

Ships are Akademmik Ioffe & Akademmik Sergey Vavilov.  Could end up in court.

 

Good news that Hondius has left Split & is underway in Adriatic for arrival Vlissingen June 1st.

First cruise to Spitzbergen will sail on 3rd of June.  Some discounts available.

[kaisatsu]

8 hours ago, SeaDog-46 said:

Russian owners have advised One Ocean Expeditions that 2 vessels they have on charter will NOT be available for 2019/2020 season.  Maybe this is because they have lost there Ice Class & do not comply with new Polar Code.

I highly doubt that’s the reason. They wouldn’t lose their rating until the changes go into effect, and it’s a pretty major move to rescind the charter with only a month’s notice. This is affecting the 2019 Arctic season, which has already begun, and has stranded passengers who’ve booked their flights to the Longyearbyen a while ago.

[SeaDog-46]

The Polar Code went into force on 1st January 2017 & comes into full force 1st Jan. 2022.

As vessels with ICE ratings go for there 5 year surveys - they are not able to get the new Polar Code unless the can comply.

This is a very expensive exercise & very few ships will go through unless the owners have planned to expend the money & have the vessel out of operation for months.  This is why there are so many NEW expedition ships on order & starting to operate.

[SeaDog-46]

World Explorer is now operational.

Registered in Madeira with plag of Portugal - she is about 9270 gt & carries 200 pax.

Will be chartered by Quark & Nicko for Arctic & Antarctic cruises.

[SeaDog-46]

Hapag - Lloyd's Hanseatic Inspiration has been handed over on time & after christening in Hamburg by Laura Dekker sailed for Antwerp to start her maiden voyage on 14th Oct.

Sister ship to Hanseatic Nature but with English as onboard language she is 15540 gt - 230 pax. - PC6.

[bob brown]

I am just beginning my Antarctic cruise research.

Can someone explain the various polar classes of ship's, if it isn't too much trouble?

Appreciate it!🙂

 

[kaisatsu]

12 hours ago, bob brown said:

I am just beginning my Antarctic cruise research.

Can someone explain the various polar classes of ship's, if it isn't too much trouble?

Appreciate it!🙂

 

How much detail do you want? 😉

 

If you’re just starting your research, you really only need to look at the size:

 

<150 passengers - Small ship, several long landings (<100 is fantastic as several sites cap landings to 100 at a time, but most ships under 150 will arrange it so that you still have plenty of time ashore and can typically get everyone out in zodiacs at once)

 

150-250 passengers - Medium ship. Typically still manages two operations per day, but shorter landing times due to passenger rotations. Zodiac cruising will likely also be shorter and require rotations.

 

250-500 passengers - Large ship. Expect just one operation per day and limited options for changes of plan in case of problematic weather/ice conditions.

 

>500 passengers - Massive ship. Typically no landings and ship cruising only. Several are likely to be disallowed under tightening environmental regulations.

 

Beyond that, there’s not much noticeable difference. All passenger expedition ships have a sufficient ice rating to maneuver effectively in the most visited areas and can push through thin or scattered sea ice. The only difference you’d see would be traveling on a true icebreaker, which is not available so often and typically used to visit specific hard-to-reach areas.

 

Most people strongly recommend the smallest ship you can afford and are comfortable with.

[bob brown]

I 'get' that about ship size...I was more curious about ice ratings....such as 1A, 1A+, 1B, etc....or 6P?

[SeaDog-46]

Bob - The Ice ratings as quoted by cruise agents have little to do with the Polar Code.  The new code covers so much more than just strengthened hulls - see above.

Old Ice ratings are issued by some nations like Russia, for different areas like the Baltic & by various Classification Societies like Lloyds, ABS, DNV etc.

The current crop of expedition vessels will soon be falling foul of the new code & will no longer work at plus 60 latitude except maybe around Iceland / Norway.

 

To understand the code you need to Google - Polar Code & read the technical sites downloading the PDF's available.

Below is list of PC1 to PC7  operational ice conditions where PC1 is a year round operational icebreaker & PC6 is the usual expedition vessel rating - this is also similar rating to the current larger ships doing sail by cruises.

Lloyd's Register decoding the Polar Code.

IMO have publications & videos available online.

Remember that the Polar Code applies to all commercial ships operating in the area - see below the Russian shuttle tanker Shturman Albanov that was one of the first ships to comply with the code several years ago.

 

 

 

[kaisatsu]

12 hours ago, bob brown said:

I 'get' that about ship size...I was more curious about ice ratings....such as 1A, 1A+, 1B, etc....or 6P?

It doesn’t really matter. As I mentioned, any passenger expedition ship will have a sufficient ice rating. A higher ice rating will not have a noticeable impact on the expedition (the individual captain will be a much bigger factor go/no-go decisions). So unless you’re choosing between an icebreaker and an expedition ship, ice rating really shouldn’t influence your decision.

[SeaDog-46]

Magellan Explorer - another new expedition vessel starting inaugral cruise from Punta Arenas, Chile on 28th Nov. 2019.

Ship is 4900 gt,  100 passengers,  PC6 with Bahmas flag.

From US$13000 for 8 day cruise - $1625 pp/day.

[debrowe2]

I see that Celebrity has an Antarctica cruises advertised for the 2022 season. Will they be in violation of the Code?

[Nitemare]

 

10 hours ago, debrowe2 said:

I see that Celebrity has an Antarctica cruises advertised for the 2022 season. Will they be in violation of the Code?

Do you think a Multi-Billion dollar company would take a chance like that?

[debrowe2]

No I don't. Just confused by the statement earlier in this thread that the last "drive-by" sailings might be the 2 being done by Westerdam in January 2021. The Celebrity cruise in 2022 is definitely a drive-by so I guess that poster was incorrect. 

[SeaDog-46]

No - debrowe2 - the poster is NOT incorrect.

NONE  OF  THE  CURRENT  LARGE  CRUISE   SHIPS  WILL  BE  DOING  "DRIVE -BY"  CRUISES  AFTER  2021.

 

Please read  the above on the new Polar Code & google for more info.

Ignore experdition ship adverts.

 

Azamara & Celebrity are just not up to the new rules & it is indicative of the management of these FOC companies.

[sippican]

On 12/2/2019 at 7:13 AM, Nitemare said:

 

Do you think a Multi-Billion dollar company would take a chance like that?

 

Yes, I do.

Just take a look at what has happened in the Galapagos over the past year, with X trying to skirt the National Park regulations.

[OnTheJourney]

Interesting discussion!  Glad we did the Celebrity trip before they (apparently) will no longer be going there. 

[Nitemare]

20 hours ago, sippican said:

 

Yes, I do.

Just take a look at what has happened in the Galapagos over the past year, with X trying to skirt the National Park regulations.

Running aground?

Or did they try to break a law?

 

One is an accident, the other is intentional.

 

[sippican]

1 minute ago, Nitemare said:

Running aground?

Or did they try to break a law?

 

One is an accident, the other is intentional.

 

 

On one occasion they were sanctioned for breaking the regulations regarding food not sourced properly (lobster). 

Most recently was the licensing fiasco where they attempted to combine the  licenses from two vessels (Xperience and Xploration), to one vessel, Xpedition, which is expressly forbidden. 

[Nitemare]

5 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

On one occasion they were sanctioned for breaking the regulations regarding food not sourced properly (lobster). 

Most recently was the licensing fiasco where they attempted to combine the  licenses from two vessels (Xperience and Xploration), to one vessel, Xpedition, which is expressly forbidden. 

I was not aware of that, thanks for the info.

 

So you expect they will continue to try to break the rules?  I am (obviously) not familiar with the risk/reward curve here

[sippican]

10 minutes ago, Nitemare said:

I was not aware of that, thanks for the info.

 

So you expect they will continue to try to break the rules?  I am (obviously) not familiar with the risk/reward curve here

 

I have a stake in this (non refundable deposit). I am hoping that I am missing some loophole here, or just not understanding the code or process. However, based on my knowledge of what happened in the Galapagos, and the way it was dealt with by Celebrity, I am not very hopeful. I am unable to find a single bit of inflammation that makes me believe they can be certified to sail in Antarctica in 2022 , nor do I believe they will break the rules if they are not certified.  Sadly, they have every right to alter their itineraries without recourse, so those who booked the cruise believing they’d “drive by” Antarctica, can miss that potion. 

 

[sippican]

Sorry for the above misspelling "inflammation" meant to be information. (Appropriate slip, lol!) I also believe that the Celebrity ships run on HFO, which is also banned in the Antarctic after the deadline in 2022.  It's curious that other large ship lines are still releasing Antarctic drive-by itineraries for 2022.