D1.2 Guidelines on the conditions to access European PRVs

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), polar research vessels (PRVs) are vessels that are capable of carrying out marine research in polar waters. This is a very broad definition that encompasses a wide range of vessels from those capable of breaking sea ice to those that can work in open polar waters where the presence of ice is residual.

Following from the breadth of the IMO definition, the European PRV fleet includes and wide array of vessels from research icebreakers to a large number of vessels capable of working only in ice-free waters. Recent IMO regulations on safety and technical requirements for ships working in polar waters might even expand the number of available European "polar" vessels, because with the appropriate modifications, many research vessels could have the capacity to become a Polar Class C vessel (ones that can work only in ice-free waters).