Maritime Stakeholders Discuss Arctic Safety and Growth
Some 2,000 government, industry, research and civil society representatives gathered for the Arctic Circle Assembly held October 7-9 in Reykjavik, where the group of international participants engaged in dialogue and cooperation centering on the future of the Arctic.
“Safety at sea is a condition for growth in the Arctic, where shipping is vital to – and often the only type of – infrastructure,” said Andreas Nordseth, Director-General, Danish Maritime Authority.
The Danish Maritime Authority arranged an event for Blue Denmark, at which Director General Andreas Nordseth spoke about maritime growth and safety in the Arctic together with Minister of Infrastructure Knud Kristiansen from the Government of Greenland, Director General of the Danish Shipowners' Association Anne Steffensen, and Commander in Chief and representative of the Joint Arctic Command Lars Henrik Hansen.
“We must solve the challenges by cooperating internationally, just as we have for example done with the IMO Polar Code. In the future, it becomes important to create a holistic approach to ocean governance, where we consider our use of the sea – such as shipping, fishing, mining and tourism – at the same time as we consider environmental protection,” Nordseth said.
The Polar Code enters into force on January 1, 2017 and introduces an international set of regulations for ships navigating polar areas. The Code implements global requirements for ships' construction and equipment, environmental protection, voyage planning and crew competences.