Vanguard Magazine

in Canada's Arctic waters G lobal warming is gradually increasing maritime access to the Canadian Arctic which has led to an increase of mari- time traffic. The immediate concern is not with the traditional annual community resupply shipping companies who are well experienced navigating those waters, but more with adventurers, super yachts, and cruise ships. In the future, in addition to the disappearing ice, the pres- ent water restrictions of the Panama Ca- nal, the ongoing security issues with the Red Sea, the relationship with Russia and its Northern Sea Route, and piracy in the Strait of Malacca, we may also see an in- crease with transoceanic commercial traffic through the Northwest Passage. More cruise ships are entering the waters of the Arctic Archipelago to experience the fabled Northwest Passage. Unfortunately, cruise ships running aground in Canada is not a theoretical exercise as three of them have already done so. The Hanseatic in 1996 ran aground "because the bridge team did not strictly adhere to the plan that had been prepared for navigating the vessel through the strait. Relying on a naviga- tion buoy left in the strait from the previ- ous navigation season contributed to the ground-ing." The MV Clipper Adventurer near Kugluktuk ran aground in 2010. Its forward-looking sonar was inoperable. The Academik Ioffe ran aground in 2018 some 78 nautical miles north-northwest of Kugaaruk. In that case, "While transit- ing the narrows, the officer of the watch was multitasking, the helmsman was busy steering the vessel, and no other crew were tasked with monitoring the echo sounders and keeping lookout. As a consequence, they did not notice the under-keel water depth steadily decrease. The under-keel low water depth aural and visual alarms for both echo sounders were turned off." Also worrisome is that several fuel tank- ers have run aground in the Arctic: the Mokami in October 2010, the MV Nanny in February of 2012 and 2014, and the Kivalliq W in October 2022. All of those occurrences were avoidable. Fortunately, nobody was injured, and there was only a minor environmental impact. We might not be so lucky next time. One of the older maritime conventions of the International Maritime Organiza- tion is called the International Conven- tion for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974. It is focused on preserving life at sea through regulations and inspections "to ensure that, from the point of view of safety of life, a ship is fit for the service for which it is intended." The regulations apply to the ship as well as the life-saving appliances. Under SOLAS Regulation 7, Surveys of Passenger Ships, there is a re- quirement for periodical survey once every 12 months. Specifically, "The periodical survey shall include an inspection of the ... life-saving appliances … is in satisfactory condition and fit for the service for which it is intended." Life-saving equipment be- ing "fit for service" is very important for ships operating in the polar regions. The International Maritime Organiza- tion adopted a Polar Code in November 2014 with the aim of reducing the loss of life at sea caused by the lack of pre- paredness to operate in the polar regions which are more isolated and challeng- ing in which to operate. The Polar Code www.vanguardcanada.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2024 37 T H E LA S T W O R D B Y P I E R R E L E B LA N C TIME TO ENFORCE THE POLAR CODE Adopted seven years ago, the Polar Code is critical for protecting lives and preventing accidents in some of the world's most remote and hazardous regions. Photo: Irving Shipbuilding

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