<p>This study investigates the variability of ships’ operational limitations for ice conditions in view of national rules and international regulations: The Rules for Navigation in the Water Area of the Northern Sea Route and The Polar Code of the International Maritime Organization. As an example, the Kara Sea region is considered for the period of 2017-2018. First, an analysis of the ship traffic is performed using the data from three datasets: (1) Northern Sea Route Administration Data, (2) Raw AIS Data (Norway), and (3) Arctic Ship Traffic Data (combined AIS data from USA and Norway). Second, for each vessel’s ice class, the ice information was used to derive&nbsp;operational limitations using the Operational Limit Assessment Risk Indexing System (POLARIS).&nbsp;Results were compared with the newly updated Northern Sea Route access criteria. Preliminary results indicate that for the vessels with higher ice classes (Arc7- Arc9) the POLARS requirements and the new national rules are consistent in the Southwest part of the Kara Sea. In the Northeast part, the requirements of the new rules are stricter than those of POLARIS during months January-June and&nbsp;December. Arc7 vessels are not allowed to independently access the region at this time. For independently navigating vessels with lower ice classes (Arc4 – Arc6), the new rules also impose stricter requirements than those of POLARIS in areas with moderate and severe ice conditions. According to the new rules, none of the vessels can independently access the region under severe ice conditions during January-June and December, whereas POLARIS allows Arc6 access even when ice conditions are severe. There is an inconsistency between the international regulations and the national rules. The latter imposes stricter requirements for independently navigating vessels with class Arc7 and lower;&nbsp;however,&nbsp;for Arc4 vessels under icebreaker escort, the national rules in the Kara Sea are softer than the international requirements.</p>

Agree âˆ’ Disagree: Comparing Traffic Limitations in the Kara Sea

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/OMAE/OMAE2021/volume/85116

OMAE 2021

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