Russia and the polar marine environment: The negotiation of the environmental protection measures of the mandatory Polar Code

• Published date: 01 April 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12233
• Date: 01 April 2018
• Author: Dorottya Bognar

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Russia and the polar marine environment: The negotiation of

the environmental protection measures of the mandatory

Polar Code

Dorottya Bognar

Correspondence

Email: dorottya.bognar@uit.no The International Maritime Organization’s Polar Code aims at enhancing polar mar-

ine environmental protection from vessel-source pollution. Russia, the largest Arctic

coastal State will play an important role in the Code’s implementation and further

development. This article analyses Russia’s positions and decision-making mode dur-

ing the negotiations of the Code’s environmental measures. Looking at three issue

areas –establishment of special areas, discharge ban of oil and oily mixtures, and

reception facilities –it is evident that Russia’s environmental interests took a back-

seat to economic concerns and zero-sum outlook. Further, Russia’s negotiating strat-

egy was dominated by bargaining, rather than arguing, which could have produced

better understanding among the negotiating parties. There was a disconnect

between Russia’s aims and the Code’s goals, and between Russia’s chosen strategy

and the strategy from which its proposals could benefit most. This suggests that the

Code’s implementation and future development could face further challenges from

Russia.

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INTRODUCTION

With the decrease of polar sea ice and the expected increase of

polar shipping, one recent step to protect the Arctic marine environ-

ment concerns a new mandatory international legal instrument, the

International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code),

negotiated at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

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The

Polar Code is a set of region-specific regulations applying to both

the Arctic and Antarctic, which adds to already existing major IMO

Conventions, including the International Convention for the Preven-

tion of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).

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The Code includes manda-

tory regulations, as well as recommendations, for passenger ships,

cargo vessels and their crew, both for the protection of the fragile

polar marine environment and for navigational safety, which indir-

ectly contributes to the prevention of accidental pollution of polar

waters. The safety measures of the Code address construction,

machinery, equipment and training issues as well as voyage planning,

while the environmental measures add to the Annexes of MARPOL

in the areas of prevention of pollution by oil, noxious liquid sub-

stances, sewage and garbage. While the pollution prevention part of

the Code originally set out with a much wider coverage, the key

issue areas focused on were oil pollution, including the possibility of

a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) and the possible need for

port reception facilities, as well as questions of certification to prove

compliance with the Code’s requirements.

One of the most affected parties in the negotiation of the Polar

Code was the Russian Federation, the largest Arctic coastal State.

It is the waters north of the Russian Arctic coast that are most

promising for commercial shipping with the predicted reduction of

sea ice, and Russia already utilizes these waters in connection with

resource extraction in the region. Russia’s participation in the Polar

Code’s negotiation and its efforts to influence the Code’s

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‘International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code)’IMO Doc MSC.385

(94) (adopted 21 November 2014, entered into force 1 January 2017); and ‘International

Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code)’IMO Doc MEPC.264(68) (adopted

15 May 2015, entered into force 1 January 2017) (Polar Code).

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International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, as Modified by the

Protocol of 1978 Relating Thereto (adopted 2 November 1973 and 17 February 1978,

entered into force 2 October 1983) 1340 UNTS 62 (MARPOL), as amended.

DOI: 10.1111/reel.12233

RECIEL. 2018;27:35–44. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/reel

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