High Arctic waters could be a step closer to receiving their first environmental protections this week.
A committee of the International Maritime Organization is meeting this week in London, England, for a preliminary vote on the Polar Code.
The code would designate which ships can safely sail in ice-choked seas and forbid practices such as dumping oily water overboard.
Arctic countries such as Canada already have tough regulations, but those rules don't cover the central Arctic Ocean outside territorial waters.
Environmental groups praise the new rules, while pointing out they still don't forbid practices such as the use of heavy fuel oil.
If the 100 or so countries at the meeting vote in favour of the code, there will be one more vote in the spring for final approval.
Some international regulation of Arctic waters is seen to be essential as shipping gradually increases in seas left increasingly ice-free by climate change.
