IARC’s Lawson Brigham pushes Arctic shipping safety forward

By IARC Communications | January 9, 2017

An orange and white offshore oil terminal floats in a frozen sea filled with chunks of ice. The structure features a green helipad on the left, a long black-and-yellow striped crane arm stretching to the right, and the Russian words printed on its sides. In the upper-right corner, a framed portrait inset shows an older man with gray hair and glasses wearing a dark suit and patterned tie.

Lawson Brigham is a distinguished professor of geography and Arctic Policy at IARC. He’s also a former Coast Guard icebreaker captain and maritime-law expert who has spent the last 25 years helping work toward the recent adoption of the Polar Code by the International Maritime Organization and international shippers from many nations.

The Polar Code details amendments to existing maritime shipping agreements. As Arctic waters lose more and more ice, it has become critically necessary to codify regulations that will require bigger freight and passenger ships to be equipped to operate safely in circumpolar regions, with crews adequately trained to pilot the vessels.

The new regulations will be phased in over the next two years. Read the full story at KUAC