Perhaps I will put it the other way around, in this perspective. The main set of pollution prevention measures under this act and its regulations, called the Arctic Shipping Pollution Prevention Regulations, is directly related to the construction and the equipment and the qualifications of the crew for ships operating in that area. So the standards are higher than international standards at the moment, and therefore these extend to a vessel now entering that area, which has to comply with those standards.
On March 24th, 2009. See this statement in context.