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The impact of the Polar Code on risk mitigation in Arctic Waters: a 'Toolbox' for underwriters? 1. Introduction During the past decade, interest in Arctic shipping has increased. The rapid melting of sea ice suggests that the Arctic Ocean may become ice-free (IPCC 2014), thus more suitable for commercial navigation. Yet, Arctic navigation will remain risky due to the existence of multiple hazards, such as drifting ice, restricted visibility, extreme temperatures leading to icing, inaccurate charts and remoteness (Blanco-Bazan 2009; Haavik 2017). On January 1 st 2017, the 'International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters', referred to as the Polar Code (PC), entered into force through a direct integration into the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS 1974/1988) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 1973/1978). This instrument was negotiated under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) aiming to define enhanced safety and environmental standards for future Polar shipping. The PC follows a 'risk based approach' (IMO 2014), meaning, it explicitly identifies the main risks existing in Polar areas, their potential consequences and enacts imperative and non-mandatory measures to mitigate such identified risks. Risk assessment and mitigation in shipping in general (Goerlandt and Montewka 2015; Lam and Lassa 2017; Luo et al. 2017; Uğurlu et al. 2017) and in Arctic navigation specifically, has been dealt with in various strands of literature. A comprehensive review of previous research on Arctic shipping can be notably found in Kum and Sahin (2015). The technical approach emphasized the specific polar risks, their acuity, the severe consequences of their occurrence (Loughnane et al. 1995; Kum and Sahin 2015) requiring new predicting models (Bergstrom et al. 2016; Fu et al. 2016). Numerous studies have highlighted the importance of sound maritime insurance for operations in Arctic waters and actual difficulties due to the lack

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