Ice class

Building a ship to an ice class means that the hull must be thicker, and more scantlings must be in place.

Traffic restrictions in the Baltic Sea during winter months are based on the Finnish-Swedish ice classes.

These restrictions, imposed by the local maritime administrations, declare the minimum requirements for ships that are given icebreaker assistance, for example "ice class 1A, 2000 DWT".

Prior to the adoption of Unified Requirements for Polar Class Ships, DNV (Det Norske Veritas until 2013; DNV GL in 2013–2021) maintained its own set of requirements for ships operating independently in freezing sub-Arctic, Arctic and Antarctic waters.

[7] The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS), established in 1913, has a long history of classing icebreakers and ice-strengthened vessels, and today maintains its own set of ice class rules for vessels navigating in freezing non-Arctic and Arctic seas.

[9] Ice classification by Lloyd's Register based on Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean conditions.

Source:[12] A class attributed to a vessel under the Canada Shipping Act regime, which indicates that the vessel met the requirements of the applicable standards of TP 12260 Equivalent Standards for the Construction of Arctic Class Ships, published by the Department of Transport, on December 1, 1995.

[13] This new system exists for determining how the most highly ice-strengthened vessels are classed by Transport Canada, Marine Safety.

Details of the new structural classifications are provided in the Transport Canada publication Equivalent Standards For The Construction Of Arctic Class Ships - TP 12260E; to summarize: Vessels CAC 1, 2, 3, and 4 may also be considered suitable escorts, capable of escorting ships of lower classes.

Ships built to polar standards of other Classification Societies and national authorities can apply for CAC equivalency on a case-by-case basis, as can owners of vessels previously classified under the existing Canadian system for Arctic Class vessels.