IACS Polar Class (PC1 to PC7)

IACS Polar Class is the harmonized scheme of seven ice classes, PC1 to PC7, that grades a ship’s capability to operate in polar ice, from PC1 for year-round operation in all polar waters down to PC7 for summer and autumn operation in thin first-year ice. The class sets hull-structure, machinery, and equipment requirements and feeds the assessment under the IMO Polar Code. National ice-class systems (Finnish-Swedish, Russian) sit alongside it for Baltic and Arctic trades.