THE POLARIS OPERATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ICE FIELD NAVIGATION: ANALYSIS OF THE MV EXPLORER ACCIDENT.

The article analyzes the application of the POLARIS risk management system to the shipwreck
of the Antarctic tourism ship MV Explorer, which occurred in 2007. From glaciological data e
available operational conditions, the system is applied retrospectively to evaluate the conditions of
risk faced by the vessel. POLARIS is a decision support tool for
navigation in ice-covered waters, applicable to both the planning and execution of
operations. The results indicate that the conditions found were incompatible with the
capabilities of the ship, evidencing the potential of the system to support operational decisions
safer. On the other hand, the analysis also highlights limitations of POLARIS, especially in which refers to the consideration of ice of terrestrial origin and the particularities of the Antarctic environment.