Expected to be passed in 2013, the Polar Code will operate on a voluntary basis until it is ratified by treaty states and becomes legally binding.
It aims to reduce the number of ships carrying tourists into the region by requiring that all vessels have hulls strengthened to withstand ice, and a ban on heavy fuel oil. Officials and ship operators say this will effectively shut out big cruise ships.
The safeguards are seen as necessary to limit accidents in the region, where blinding sleet, fog, high winds and treacherous seas pose major dangers for ships and huge problems for rescuers located thousands of miles from remote Antarctic waters.
And while existing rules bar tourists or tour operators from leaving anything behind