3 Planning Antarctic activities?

The following information should also be taken into consideration when planning Antarctic activities.

3.1 Antarctic Treaty Recommendation XVIII-I

The Recommendation is reproduced in full in Appendix 1 and covers the following additional areas:

• safety and self-sufficiency of operations contingency planning
• waste disposal
• training and education

3.2 Insurance and Contingency Planning: Measure 4 (2004) and Resolution 4 (2004)

The 2004 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting adopted guidance for tourist and non-government activity in Antarctica including insurance and contingency planning.

The New Zealand Government requires people planning tourist or other non-governmental activities in Antarctica to demonstrate they have:

• appropriate contingency plans
• sufficient arrangements for health and safety
• search and rescue
• medical care and evacuation
• adequate insurance or other arrangements to cover the associated costs

See Appendix 2 for full text of Measure 4 (2004) and Resolution 4 (2004).

3.3 Safety in the Antarctic

Ensuring operational safety in Antarctica requires specialised planning, procedures and equipment due to the extreme environment and isolation. An inadequate vessel, equipment, or poor operations, could result in risk to human life and environmental damage.

As noted above, self-sufficiency of private expeditions, including contingency plans, is necessary. Maritime New Zealand can be contacted for further information on distress and radio services and search and rescue available from New Zealand in the Antarctic. National science programmes in the region should not be assumed to provide safety coverage unless formal arrangements have been made.

New Zealand, in accordance with its international obligations, is responsible for providing coordinated responses to search and rescue incidents within the New Zealand Search and Rescue Region, which includes the Southern Ocean and Antarctic continent between 163 E and 131 W down to the South Pole, incorporating the Ross Sea area.

The following general New Zealand Government guidelines assist planning, to take appropriate account of the particular risks of Antarctic operations. Points relevant to safety in Recommendation XVIII-1 (Appendix 1), Measure 4 (2004) and Resolution 4 (2004) (Appendix 2) and Resolution 6 (2008) should also be consulted.

Contingency planning

• New Zealand encourages the preparation of a comprehensive safety plan and operations manual by Antarctic governmental and non-governmental operators.
• Contingency plans should be developed for all activities based on the principle of self-rescue (i.e. under all normal circumstances operations are planned and conducted so there are sufficient resources under the party’s control to carry out a rescue operation if required).

Equipment and training

• Ships, small boats and vehicles should be adequate for Antarctic conditions, and pilots or drivers fully trained for their use. Passengers should be appropriately briefed on safe use and the craft’s emergency procedures.
• All expedition members should wear adequate clothing for the conditions and in the case of inexperienced participants, be subject to stringent checking to help avoid hypothermia.
• Expedition membership should comprise sufficient individuals with adequate knowledge and experience for survival situations, such as first aid qualifications and snow-craft and other outdoor skills.

Activities away from the ship or base

• Designate a back-up vehicle, vessel or party.
• Carry a radio or satellite phone capable of contacting the ship or base and other members of the expedition, and make regular checks.
• Carry adequate survival equipment or limit activity to numbers of people and distance from base which allow rapid rescue. A useful limit is the one hour rule, i.e. that the maximum distance that any party (either by foot, sea or air) travels away from the ship or base is the distance the designated back-up from the base can travel in one hour. The number of people travelling should be limited by the carrying capacity of the back-up, if applicable.

Charts and information

• All expeditions should obtain the most up-to-date and reliable information as is available, including sourcing charts and maps and consulting the; Notice to Mariners (see relevant organisations in section 3.4).

3.4 Relevant organisations

The following national and international organisations may be of use in planning Antarctic activities.

Antarctic Heritage Trust (AHT)

Works to conserve the huts and has developed a code of conduct for visits to them. The trust seeks donations from all hut visitors and can provide visit organisers with briefing material.

Antarctica New Zealand

Agency responsible for operational management of Antarctic activity supported by the New Zealand Government. Antarctica New Zealand was established by the New Zealand Antarctic Institute Act 1996.

Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP)

Established under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, to provide guidance on the Protocols implementation.

Department of Conservation (DOC)

The central government organisation with responsibility to conserve the natural and historic heritage of New Zealand (including New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands).

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ)

Involved in the provision of topographic and hydrographic information in the Ross Dependency, including Ross Sea charts and Notices to Mariners.

Maritime Safety Authority (MSA)

Provides distress and safety radio services to the Antarctic seas between 160°E and 120°W (NAVAREA XIV) and, with LINZ, provides marine warnings for this area. MSA is responsible for search and rescue over part of the area under IN FULL FIRST (SOLAS).

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)

Administers the Biosecurity Act, requiring permits and standards for imports of plant and animal products, and works closely with the New Zealand Customs Service on border controls.

Ministry of Fisheries (MFish)

Ensures that fisheries are sustainably used within a healthy aquatic ecosystem. MFish administers the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Act.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT)

The New Zealand Government's principal adviser and negotiator on foreign and trade policy issues.

The Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ)

The agency responsible for coordinating New Zealand's response to search and rescue emergencies in New Zealand's search and rescue region (which includes the Southern Ocean and Antarctic Continent between 163°E and 131°W down to the South Pole, incorporating the Ross Sea area).