Safety of navigation in the cold North
SHIPPING: For long, the Danish Maritime Authority has strived to create the safest conditions of navigation for the increasing number of cruise ships in the Arctic regions and in Greenland waters.
The number of cruise ships around Greenland has increased quite drastically in recent years. Whereas only a couple of ships navigated along the coasts of Greenland about 10 years ago, this number has multiplied in recent years. It is expected that there will be 350 calls at Greenland ports in 2010.
The rapid development means that there is a need for international regulations on navigation in cold regions as well as an increased need to pass on the knowledge that, among others, the Danish Maritime Authority and other Danish authorities have gained through many years of operation in Greenland.
The fact that many new ships have started navigating in the Arctic regions and in Greenland waters means that they do not all have the same experience navigating in icy waters. Actually, a lack of experience is one of the main problems in connection with navigation in polar regions. It can be difficult to spot where dangers lurk and how the ice in which one is navigating will behave.
For quite some time, the Danish Maritime Authority has also strived to get special international regulations on navigation in polar regions, which is something that is lacking at the moment. It is important to take into account the special conditions that apply in the cold and icy waters.
The work takes place in several different fora - such as the Arctic Council and the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO). Recently, the Arctic Council held a meeting where the Danish Maritime Authority's proposal on navigation in pairs was among the issues on the agenda. Navigation in pairs means that a cruise ship must always have a "partner" nearby which can come to its rescue in case something goes wrong.
"It is impossible to have an emergency preparedness as that known from Danish waters. The Greenland coastline has a length of 40,000 km. Consequently, it is especially important to take preventive measures and to have regulations in place so that assistance is not far away. The ships must be able to solve the problems on their own that can, after all, arise. The areas in which the cruise ships are operating are huge, and it can be difficult to come to rescue in case something goes wrong", says Ship Surveyor Søren Enemark Jensen from the Danish Maritime Authority.
Source: Danish Maritime Authority / maritimedanmark.dk
