How safe were vessels during research cruises in Arctic in 2007-2019? Linking the Ice Watch Data and the Polar Operational Limits Assessment Risk Index System

Abstract

The present work analyzes cruise data from the Ice Watch database and applies the IMO's Polar Operational Limit Assessment Risk Indexing System (POLARIS) with ice observations. The results of this study showed that on several occasions, some vessels (e.g., RV Lance) operated under elevated operational risk in the Fram Strait and North of Svalbard during 2015. Furthermore, the results confirm the existence of speed dependency on the risk index outcome also for the vessels during research voyages, however there is an indication that this dependency could also be influenced by the vessel's activity.