The IMO Regulatory Framework for Arctic Shipping: Risk Perspectives and Goal-Based Pathways

Abstract

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), in its capacity as a specialized agency of the United Nations, is the global regulator to ensure safety, security, environmental standards, efficiency and sustainability of international shipping. The current regulatory framework of IMO, which is developed and maintained on a continuous basis, includes over 50 international instruments and numerous codes, guidelines and circulars that cover every aspect of international shipping ranging from design, construction, equipment, manning and operation to ship recycling. The safety net of the universally adopted IMO regulations currently covers approximately 1.5 million seafarers and more than 60,000 ships. With declining ice cover leading to an increasing spiral of traffic despite the many hazards, safety of shipping in polar waters and, in particular, the Arctic and its fragile environment is a current focus area of IMO and purported to be addressed by the Organization through a set of goal-based regulatory standards. This chapter provides an overview of the IMO framework and process of shipping regulation and maps the transition from prescriptive to goal-based approach. Risk-based approaches to safety are discussed in the context of the Canadian Arctic. The chapter further reviews the IMO instruments relevant to the Arctic, including the Polar Code, and discusses the approaches to implementation at the flag state, coastal state and regional level, lending new insights and future pathways on tiered implementation of the IMO goal-based framework.