|
|
Site guidelines become mandatory in West-Spitsbergen
AECO’s work on site specific guidelines in the Arctic is bearing fruits. A newly published proposal for a Management plan for West-Spitsbergen national parks includes a requirement to develop site-specific guidelines before landing at nine sites along the coast. AECO has already developed site guidelines for seven of the sites in question and will take initiative to develop the two additional guidelines for our members. AECO has advocated for the use of site guidelines as a management tool instead of stricter regulation such as landing prohibition. The Management plan also includes a proposal to consider if site-specific guidelines can replace some of the entrance prohibitions that are in place on some cultural heritage sites in Svalbard, which would be a very welcome development. It is rewarding to see how industry initiatives in this way can develop into management practice that are beneficial for visitors to the Arctic and the industry, as well as the environment.
End of pax-tax in Greenland
The Greenland Self-Government has decided to remove the “per passenger fee” (pax-tax) for cruise vessels visiting Greenland. It is most likely that the “pax-tax” will be replaced by a “per gross tonnage per 24 hours harbor fee”. The full picture has not been drawn yet, but the pax-tax in Greenland may be history from July 1st 2015.
Heavy Fuel Oil Ban
An expanded heavy fuel oil ban in Svalbard entered into force January 1st 2015. The ban applies in national parks and nature reserves, and from this year it also applies in Kongsfjorden/Ny-Ålesund and Magdalenefjorden. Ships that call in the national parks and nature reserves shall not use or carry fuel of any other grade than DMA as defined in the ISO 8217 Fuel Standard. Very few expedition cruise vessels use or carry heavy fuel oil, but many conventional cruise vessels do. Magdalenefjorden and Kongsfjorden have been major areas for conventional cruise vessel traffic. It is expected that ship traffic in Isfjorden, where there is still no heavy fuel oil ban, will increase following this change in regulations, while the traffic to Magdalenefjorden and Kongsfjorden/Ny-Ålesund will decline.
Deregulation of Canadian cruise permits
AECO has made progress concerning Canadian awareness of the need for less Canadian bureaucracy regarding cruise permits. Last year AECO wrote an open letter to the Canadian authorities addressing the cumbersome, expensive and problematic Canadian cruise permitting system with more than 50 different applications and permits, which can (and often must) be obtained from more than 35 different Canadian Authorities. At the end of the year AECO received a very positive response from the Canadian Minister of Environment, the Honorable Leona Aglukkaq, who has taken our concerns seriously and initiated a process to improve the situation.
CINA-AECO Cruise Symposium
Mark the dates. AECO has become partner with Cruise Islands of the North Atlantic (CINA) in organizing a Cruise Symposium in Torshavn - the capital of the Faro Islands - on April 27th and 28th 2016. The starting point of the conference will be the new realities of cruising in the Arctic, and the North Atlantic and the goal is to discuss, identify and deal with the new opportunities these new realities bring, both from the operators’ and the shore side.
EC Meeting, London
AECO’s Executive Committee met in London at the end of February. On the agenda was, among many other things: Members value of AECO membership, AECO’s budget and finances, reports from AECO’s committees, strategies and actions, other administrative and orientation issues.
Sharing of depth soundings
At this point in time eight AECO-vessels use a Olex-system with the historical data, which the sharing of depth sounding project has evolved around. The vessels are: MV Expeditions, Fram, Ortelius, Plancius, Silver Explorer, National Geographic Explorer, National Geographic Orion and Seaborne Quest.
It has been a challenge to share the historical data between vessels as the contribution in regard to historical data has been very uneven. In addition, a primary goal with the project has been to get hydrographic-office data into the system as well – a process, which is still ongoing. The UKHO (UK Hydrographic Office) has sent some high-resolution test-charts, which worked very well after they were installed. Even though this data is not to be used for navigation, this crowd-sourced data has a great potential for enhancing safe navigation.
In the time to come the amount of shared data will increase much faster than before, as the system has now been installed on a number of vessels, that constantly add new data to the data-pool. AECO has been contacted by several authorities, who are interested in this data.
Future ship clearance in Franz Josef Land?
AECO has for a number of years pushed for the possibility for sailing directly between Svalbard and Franz Josef Land. At the beginning of the year an important step towards this goal was taken as the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mr. Medvedev, signed a Decree that includes Franz Josef Land in the Arkhangelsk Port Area. An additional Order will be needed before the regulatory framework is in place to give vessels the possibility of ship clearance in Franz Josef Land.
|
|
|
AECO-IAATO Field Staff Conference
IAATO in collaboration with AECO will organize a Field Staff Conference in Toronto from Saturday September 26th to Tuesday September 29th 2015.
When AECO organized the first Field Staff Conference in 2008 the venue was in Longyearbyen and it had a Svalbard-agenda. When the second Field Staff conference took place in Copenhagen in 2013 it had a (mostly) Arctic agenda. This year’s conference will have a Polar agenda, and we are thrilled because we strongly believe that a joint polar approach will bring both IAATO and AECO members even more advantages.
For Operation Managers, Expedition Leaders and senior field staff, this conference will be an ideal opportunity to share best practice, ideas and discuss issues with others in the same situation, the Staff Training Working Group are currently working on finalizing the agenda. Key themes will be: field staff skills, incident management, procedures and environmental guidelines.
Two places will be reserved for every tour operator until May 8th 2015, after which additional participants will be welcomed (up to a maximum of 120 participants). IAATO with assistance from AECO, will be covering the cost of the conference. Operators are asked to cover travel and accommodation expenses. To register for the meeting, please visit the registration site here.
|
AECO office in Copenhagen
AECO’s Copenhagen office is now located at “Nordatlantens Brygge” (The North Atlantic House) http://www.nordatlantens.dk. Members of AECO may rent office space on a day-to-day bases in this building. Meeting facilities are also available. AECO welcome members and other contacts to our new office in Copenhagen, or head office in Longyearbyen.
|
New Russian Site Guidelines
AECO-member “Russian Arctic National Park” has developed 5 site-specific guidelines for Franz Josef Land inspired by AECO.
|
|
Chinese AECO Member
AECO has welcomed Guangzhou Jizhi International Travel Services as the first Chinese Affiliate member. Guangzhou Jizhi International Travel Service was established by a group of polar travel experts, who have rich experience with Arctic and Antarctica tours. Since 2006 they have organized over 50 groups visits to the polar areas including Antarctica, the Arctic and the North Pole.
|
Puffins
During the past few months AECO has given away a number of Puffins for valuable contributions. We thank everyone for this, and as always: if we have forgotten somebody/something, please do not hesitate to remind us. There are many ways to get Puffins and we have many Puffins to give away. The latest recipients are: 69 Nord, Silversea Cruises, Grand Espaces, Abercrombie & Kent, Oceanwide Expeditions and National Park Russian Arctic. Congratulations on your Puffins and thank you!
|
UK minister for the Arctic
House of Lords Arctic Committee concludes that the UK should follow the example of nations including France, Singapore and Japan in appointing an Ambassador for the Arctic. This is part of several conclusions in a report on “A changing Arctic”, which AECO has contributed to.
IAATO Vessel Operators Meeting, London
IAATO in Cooperation with Lloyds Classification Society will hold a three day Vessel Operators and Polar Code Workshop in London from June 13th to 15th. The workshop will address all relevant issues for operators who wants to get ‘polar code ready’. AECO members have been informed and invited and will be able to participate for a fee. AECO’s secretariat will be present at the workshop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
