Ice navigation

Ice navigation is a specialist area of navigation involving the use of maritime skills to determine and monitor the position of ships in cold waters, where ice is a hazard to the safety of navigation. The presence of sea ice requires a ship to exercise caution, for example by avoiding icebergs, slowly sailing through a lead, or by working with an icebreaker to follow a course through the ice to a destination. Additionally ships must also deal with the extreme cold of the climate in regions such as the poles; this involves removal of ice accumulation from the ship, as well as protecting the crew from the elements while working on the deck. Ships and their crews operating in ice will follow established rules of seamanship, as well as complying with national and international regulations such as the Polar Code.

Ice navigation occurs wherever a waterborne vessel transits through sea ice. One of the more common regions for ice navigation is the Baltic Sea, where vessels visiting the Baltic States will make their way through first year ice in the winter months, often with an Icebreaker, or with ice reports, charts and data provided by meterological offices. Other areas include the Arctic Ocean, where increasing numbers of ships are transiting the region in the summer months for cruising and to transport cargo, as a result of oil and gas extraction in areas such as Yamal. The problems of increased shipping in polar regions presents additional challenges, including maritime safety concerns in the event that ice navigation is not carried out carefully. Ships will also pass through ice when navigating in the Antarctic, although most ships are either research vessels or cruise ships that have been especially ice strengthened. Other significant maritime regions where ships will navigate through Ice include the Saint Lawrence Seaway, around Greenland and the Canadian coast, the North Atlantic during iceberg season and through the Northwest Passage.

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