The inspection campaign is additional to the regular Concentrated Inspection Campaigns and is held in a different time of the year due to the seasonal voyage plans of the ships sailing to the Polar area.

A ship will be subject to only one inspection related to this inspection campaign during this period. Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) will use a pre-defined questionnaire to assess whether the information and equipment provided onboard complies with the relevant conventions. Of course, Polar Code elements in SOLAS and MARPOL will also be taken into account. The questionnaire is annexed to the Press Release.

Reasons for such a campaign include:

• The polar waters have a unique polar ecosystem that is vulnerable to human influences such as ship operation;
• The polar waters impose additional navigational demands beyond those normally encountered in non-polar waters;
• The polar waters impose additional demands on the ships, their systems and operations beyond the existing requirements for normal operations at sea.

The goal of the Polar Code inspection campaign is:

• to determine the level of compliance with the requirements of the Polar Code within the shipping industry;
• to create awareness amongst ship crews and ship owners with regard to the importance of compliance with the provisions of the Polar Code, the increased risk to ships operating in polar waters and the protection of the vulnerable polar environment;
• to send a signal to the industry that safety- and pollution prevention related requirements are mandatory and enforcement with the applicable requirements is high on the agenda of the PMoU member Authorities;
• to underline the responsibility of the Port State Control regime with regard to harmonised enforcement of compliance with the requirements of the Polar Code, thus improving the level of compliance and ensuring a level playing field.

The results of the campaign will be analysed and findings will be presented to the Paris MoU Committee.