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January 2011 www.sname.org/sname/mt (focus on education) activities. e developments in the polar regions will most cer- tainly increase the demand for ice navigation skills in support of oshore operations, especially ice management. The current situation with ice navigation training can be described as challenging in terms of availability of trained ice navigators and growing demand for new types of skills deter- mined by technology development and new types of activities in the Arctic. is has stimulated the development of the mari- time industry supported training programs, courses, and training centers. It has also helped, especially in the last decade, the rapid development of capability to simulate navigation through ice, which is a signicant step forward in training programs targeted at ice navigators. Most of those training programs are short one- to two-week courses. ey provide basic ice operations training courses or education programs addressing all aspects of ship operation in polar waters. The current trends e reality is that the availability of competent personnel for arctic navigation is limited at present. ere is also a widely held view that it will continue to be an issue for operators conducting shipping in polar waters. Currently, two main trends are aimed at addressing this issue: regulatory changes and the development of educational tools and standards. It is hard to predict how both trends will evolve and how long it will take to establish a robust and proven system of training and certication of ice navigators. e national maritime authorities of the arctic rim countries, along with the IMO, recognize that masters and ocers of ships that operate in polar waters should have appropriate training and experience. For example, IMO guidelines for ships operating in polar waters specify in section 1.2 that all ships operating in polar ice-covered waters should carry at least one qualied ice navigator. Ice navigator is dened by the IMO as any individual who, in addi- tion to being qualied under the STCW Convention, is specially trained and otherwise qualied to direct the movement of a ship in ice-covered waters. e ice navigator should have documentary evidence of having satisfactorily completed an approved training program and on-the-job training. The IMO guidelines are not mandatory at present, and the national maritime administrations have to date not given any effect to the IMO guidelines with respect to training. The arctic states currently do not issue documentary evidence regarding satisfactory completion of appropriate training. Some countries have their own requirements for having an onboard, experi- enced ice operator. It has, in most cases, been addressed by the requirements to the minimum proven amount of hours of work in ice conditions. However, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee has its Design and Equipment sub-committee developing a proposal for a mandatory polar code, and it is expected that all governments concerned will take appropriate steps to give eect to any man- datory requirements in such a code. (For more details on the development of a polar code, see Toward a Polar Code? on page 64 in this issue.) Although training is on the agenda, it is unlikely that the devel- opment of a mandatory IMO polar code will set mandatory training requirements or competencies outside the framework of the STCW. Guidance concerning training subjects for ice navigation has been strengthened with the addition to the STCW Code in 2010 of a sec- tion addressing guidance regarding tra ining of masters and ocers for ships operating in polar waters. However, it should be noted that the revised STCW Code doesnt set mandatory requirements for ice navigation training or competency standards, or provide a model course for ice navigation. Because the changes to the STCW take significant time, progress can probably be achieved if the national maritime admin- istrations will have approved ice navigation training, even though there is no international obligation for it. Doing so will highlight the importance of ice navigation expertise and raise the quality of ice navigation training. It should help promote the very objectives of safer seafaring in ice-infested waters that the IMO and STCW guidelines are seeking to achieve. Voluntary measures could be an important step in the right direction. MTAleksandr Iyerusalimskiy is a program manager in project engineering with Cono- coPhillips Company. Steven Sawhill is a senior consultant with DNV SeaSkill. Training and Experience continued Proper ice management is critical to the safe passage of vessels such as Kapitan Nikolaev .