13. To become a leading region in maritime safety and security

Transcription

1 13. To become a leading region in maritime safety and security Coordinated by Denmark and Finland Danish Maritime Safety Administration Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications 1) General progress of the priority area Denmark and Finland share the coordination role for the implementation of Priority 13 in the Action Plan accompanying the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region: To become a leading region in maritime safety and security. The coordination process started with bilateral meeting between the coordinators: the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Danish Maritime Safety Administration. The meeting was held in Helsinki on 24 th November 2009 with the purpose of starting the coordination process by meeting in person and establishing a way forward ensuring a successful outcome for the priority area and the associated flagship projects. It was decided to have a kick-off meeting and to establish a Steering Committee comprising of representatives from each nation to coordinate the implementation process among the Baltic Sea countries. It was also decided to produce a comprehensive list of national authorities and other cooperating partners to ensure the participation of as many stakeholders as possible. The kick-off meeting for the priority 13 was held in Copenhagen organised by the Danish Maritime Safety Administration and chaired by the coordinators. The meeting took place on 19 th March Before the meeting, the coordinators sent invitations to relevant government authorities in the Baltic Sea States, the European Commission and HELCOM. At the meeting the Commission gave a briefing about the preparation of the Baltic Sea Strategy and informed about the general process of the strategy. General challenges and opportunities in priority area 13 based on the introduction of the respective coordinators were discussed. Furthermore, the flagship projects were discussed in detail based on presentations given by the flagship project leaders. It was decided to form task force committees to those flagship projects which still did not have a lead in order to map the existing situation and possible ways forward. The main purpose of the kick-off meeting was to form a Steering Committee for the implementation of priority 13. The terms of reference of the Steering Committee were discussed and the final wording was to be decided in the next meeting. The second meeting was held in Helsinki on 21 st -22 nd June 2010 organised by the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications and chaired by the coordinators. The terms of reference of the Steering Committee was approved. The meeting discussed the state of play of the flagship projects and exchanged views regarding those flagship projects which still do not have a lead. The meeting also touched upon the existing regional cooperation regarding maritime safety and security in order to identify possible gaps or overlapping initiatives. 1

2 A proposal made by the Finnish Border Guard concerning a technical feasibility study on a Baltic Sea Coastguard Network was presented and the Steering Committee discussed, whether to include this project into the Action Plan as flagship project no The Steering Committee decided to grant flagship project 13.1 additional time in order to constitute itself. The Swedish Coast Guard presented the project Maritime Surveillance in the European Northern Sea Basins (MARSUNO) and the Steering Committee decided to grant this project the label of flagship project in the Action Plan of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea region (as project no. 13.2) The Steering Committee welcomed the potential interest concerning the lead for flagship project 13.6 (Develop a plan to reduce the number of accidents in fisheries). The Steering Committee will return to the matter, including the required funding to initiate actions, at its next meeting. The Steering Committee finally discussed and drafted the progress report to be submitted to the European Commission by the end of June Institutional structure The second meeting established the Steering Committee, which will advice and assist Denmark and Finland in their capacity as Priority Area Coordinators, with the view to ensure that actions are anchored all over the region. The Members of the Steering Committee are: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and the European Commission. Other interested Baltic Sea States, in particular Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation, can also become members of the Steering Committee should they so wish. Members are represented in the Steering Committee by a relevant Ministry, or state agency operating in the field of maritime safety and security as well as the European Commission by a representative of the relevant service. Flagship Project Leaders whose flagship projects are within priority 13 in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, may also attend Steering Committee meetings. The Steering Committee may also assign the status of Observer to other states, organisations or financial instruments, having a legitimate interest in the priority area. The Steering Committee may invite third parties as guests to its meetings. The Steering Committee may provide advice and assistance to the Priority Area Coordinators by serving as a forum for dialogue and discussion regarding the implementation of priority 13 in the action plan for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The Steering Committee will also operate as a forum for dialogue for flagship projects. The Steering Committee may, within the mandate given to the priorities, initiate and implement projects relevant to the enhancement of maritime safety and security in the Baltic Sea Region and explore their financing with a view to focusing work in areas where it creates most added value. The Steering Committee may establish and terminate sub working structures, such as task forces, to deal with specific task having a clear and timelimited mandate. 2

3 Decisions within the Steering Committee are taken by consensus among members. However, non-eu members are not in the position to block cooperation among EU members in a given field, but may instead choose to not to participate in a particular field of cooperation. The Steering Committee takes overall political guidance from the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and its Action Plan as well as from the Annual Stakeholder Forums and the High Level Group. The Steering Committee may also consider policy documents on the Baltic Sea Region from relevant states or organisations. The Steering Committee holds meetings, as required in order to discuss and to recommend actions on issues pertaining to the implementation of the priority. The Chairmanship of the Steering Committee rotates between the two priority coordinators. The Chairman of the Steering Committee prepares the agenda for the Committee meetings. Members may present their proposals for the agenda to the Chairman. Progress reports on the priority area drafted by the Priority Area Coordinators, are circulated to and discussed among members before submission to the European Commission. All Steering Committee meetings are conducted in English. Participants may bring interpreters at their own expense. The member hosting meetings bears the costs connected with the meeting, unless otherwise decided. Participants in the meetings cover their respective travel and accommodation expenses. 2) Progress of each flagship project Conduct a technical feasibility study on a Baltic Sea Coastguard Network Reference is made to the proposal by the Finnish Border Guard Become a pilot region for the integration of maritime surveillance systems Description of the project The pilot project is a step towards achieving the aims to render existing monitoring and tracking systems more interoperable between at least three coastal Member States to the Northern European Sea basins (hereinafter "the project partners"). In particular, to determine the extent to which this cooperation enhances exchanges of information and enforcement of international, Community and national legislation and cooperation that already takes place between the Member States, The objectives of the project are: 1. To test the capacity of project partners to exchange surveillance and monitoring information relating to Coast Guarding activities that take place in the Northern European Sea basins. 2. To test joint maritime surveillance operational procedures between law enforcement authorities. Testing may include 3

4 joint sharing of existing systems also observations and development of procedures for joint operations. 3. To determine the extent to which project partners are potentially able to set up an exchange of information basic data - mechanism at a cross sectoral and cross border level that is viable and durable in time, also concerning cooperation between civil and military assets. 4. To identify legal, administrative and technical obstacles that may hinder the exchange of the above mentioned information on a long-term basis. 5. To identify - on the basis of the acquired experience in exchanging the information - best practices and/or legal adjustments needed to overcome the obstacles identified. 6. To determine the extent of added value both in qualitative and quantitative terms. Relate to what already exists in a cross border/cross sectoral cooperation perspective. Leader of the project Swedish Coast Guard Financing Total budget: Euro. EU contribution: max Euro. Each participating authority will contribute with a minimum level of financing, stated in the Grant Agreement, while the EU Commission will support with approximately 60 % of that specific amount. State of play The Grant agreement was signed between the European Commission and the Swedish Coast Guard was signed on the 28 of December Kick off meeting took place in Stockholm 4-5 March The meeting gathered approximately 70 members from at least 10 different countries within EU and also third countries. The different working groups have started the work to test the capacity of project partners to exchange surveillance and monitoring information and to test joint maritime surveillance operational procedures cross border. This will be carried out mainly between April 2010 to November 2010 Problems encountered and solutions found No severe problems have been encountered. Next steps Gap analysis will be carried out within all working groups. Expected finalization December Speed up re-surveying of major shipping routes and ports Description of the project The aim of the project is to speed-up hydrographic re-surveys of the Baltic Sea, and thus to contribute to improving the safety of navigation. More specifically, the activity aims at developing and starting implementation of the revised Baltic Sea Re-survey Scheme, to be based on national re-survey plans and to cover the whole sea area in a harmonized way. The 2002 Re-survey Scheme, developed by the Baltic Sea Hydrographic Commission (BSHC) following the HELCOM 2001 Copenhagen Declaration, will be revised e.g. taking into 4

5 account the actual shipping routes (based on AIS) and the new routeing measures established in the Baltic. The hydrographic re-surveys are a continuous activity. It has been agreed by the coastal countries that the national re-survey plans, including time schedule estimations, are to be finalized and presented preferably by 2013, but not later than Leader of the project HELCOM and the Baltic Sea Hydrographic Commission are co-leaders for this activity. Financing Based on SOLAS, the governments of the Contracting States are responsible for funding resurveys in their areas of responsibility. The amount of re-surveys and their time schedule is directly dependent on the funding available. Some countries (e.g. Finland and Sweden) are planning to seek external funding for parts of their re-surveys, e.g. from EU TEN-T funds under the umbrella of Motorways of the Baltic Sea Concept. State of play The revision of the Baltic Sea Re-survey Scheme, including its principles, has been agreed on a political level (HELCOM Ministerial Meeting on 20 May 2010, Moscow). The Monitoring Working Group of BSHC has adjusted their Work Programme accordingly and expects it to be approved by the BSHC in September Problems encountered and solutions found No severe problems have been encountered. Next steps Presentation of the ministerial agreement on the revision of the Re-survey Scheme to the 15 th BSHC Conference on September 2010, approval of the revised Work Programme and giving guidance to the practical work within the Monitoring Working Group. The application to the EU TEN-T project for funding of some re-surveys will be prepared by Finland and Sweden by 31 August The BSHC members are asked to give their indication to participate to this project by 30 June Expected finalization The new Baltic Sea Re-survey Scheme is to be fully harmonized and put in place by 2015 at the latest. Otherwise, the national re-surveys is a continuous activity according to the specific national timetables. 5

6 13.4 Become a pilot region for e-navigation Description of the project A test bed for e-navigation in the Baltic Sea is established by one of the work packages in the EU Interreg IV B Baltic Sea Programme project Efficient Safe and Sustainable Traffic at Sea (EfficienSea). The following steps are planned to be carried out: 1. Establish a test bed; make arrangements with relevant users in the area; 2. Identify relevant e-navigation services to be tested; 3. Make a test plan and identify the optimal testing methodology; 4. Develop a prototype for e-navigation services and establish the required infrastructure; 5. Test these services and gather experience from their use; 6. Make the test results available to the international community working with e- Navigation, and for the participating organisations in their preparation for the e- Navigation revolution ; The project runs from 2009 to Leader of the project The Danish Maritime Safety Administration is lead partner for the EfficienSea project as well as for the work package on e-navigation therein. Financing The total budget of the e-navigation work package is 1,953,786.74, of which EU finances 75%. State of play Referring to the description of the project, the current state is: 1. Has been completed 2. Has been completed 3. Is 90% completed 4. Has started recently, and is 10% completed The remaining activities (5-6) have not yet started. Problems encountered and solutions found No severe problems have been encountered. Next steps The focus at this stage is on finalizing the test plans and developing the services to be tested. Expected finalization 6

7 The project ends primo 2012, but since it is classified as a so-called strategic Interreg project, it may be prolonged for 2 additional years Create a network of centres of excellence for maritime training Description of the project Description of the project The aim of the project is to provide young people attractive prospects for a long life career in maritime enterprises / professions and facilitate mobility between sea and land based jobs. As well as upgrading competences to adapt requirements to today s shipping industry. The following general steps are planned to be carried out: 1. To establish an European network of cooperative academies and centres of maritime training, supported by representatives of maritime transport and industry; 2. To accomplish Education and training effects that correspond to the industry's needs and expectations; 3. To create Joint European curriculum model for the wild spread maritime career possibilities; 4. Long life learning system for seafarers. The project runs from Leader of the project Polish Ministry of Infrastructure, Department of Maritime Transport and Inland Navigation together with Maritime University in Szczecin and Maritime University in Gdynia. The leader has already invited administrations and maritime universities from the Baltic Region and other interested EU MS to cooperation. Financing No financing, leader tries to find applicable EU funds. Possible BRS fund and regional funds. State of play The internal working group was established and is working on preparation the first seminar/kick-off meeting. Problems encountered and solutions found The main problem is to find applicable EU fund to carry out the project. 7

8 Next steps - Seminar/ kick- off meeting which will take place 1 st of October in Szczecin at the Maritime University. - Work out common curriculum for the broad maritime education system (work for small specialised working groups from the interested parts from the Region) - 2 nd seminar in Gdynia Spring Implementation of the accepted project of joint curriculum and common standards for maritime training and education in the region Expected finalization 2012 project of joint curriculum and common standards for maritime training and education Develop a plan to reduce the number of accidents in fisheries There is currently no lead for this flagship project, for which reason the Steering Committee is working on resolving this, and will revert to the topic at its next meeting "Conduct a pre-study on possible funding for a formal risk assessment for Liquefied Natural Gas /LNG) carriers in the Baltic Sea Area" It should be noted, that this Flagship Project was not included under priority 13 in the original version of the Action Plan, but its inclusion got broad support from Member States and was confirmed by the High-Level Group. Description of the project: The aim is to seek possibilities of funding for a Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) study for maritime Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) transportation in the Baltic Sea and any possible impact on the surroundings. Leader of the project: Has not yet been determined. The Danish Maritime Authority is in contact with Baltic Sea States concerning this issue, but it is still to be decided. Financing: Not relevant at present for the pre-study phase. State of play: Activity has not yet been executed, as the initial phase is still in progress. Problems encountered and solutions found: No remarks at present. Next steps: An initial meeting has been agreed in late June 2010 between Denmark and a Baltic Sea state. Expected finalization: To be determined. 8

9 3) Roadmap for the priority 13 ( ) Steering Committee: The Steering Committee will hold meetings as needed. Currently, a single meeting of the Steering Committee in the Autumn of 2010 is foreseen to take place in Copenhagen. In 2011, at least two meetings of the Steering Committee are foreseen. A seminar, which would gather flagship project leaders also involving relevant stakeholders, is foreseen to take place in the Spring of The Priority Area Coordinators will attend the annual Stakeholder Forum, which will be held next time in Tallinn on October Flagship projects without lead: The Steering Committee aims at appointing leads for those flagship projects which are still missing a lead during the Autumn of Policy discussions: The Steering Committee foresees to have policy discussions as a standing item on the agenda of Steering Committee meetings during 2011, in order to contribute to the revision of the Action Plan accompanying the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, which is to be updated during the Polish Presidency of the European Union in the Autumn of This includes analysing the need for potential additional projects in order to cover identified gaps or new initiatives regarding maritime safety and security in the Baltic Sea Region. 4) Conclusions: The Steering Committee emphasises that the flagship projects, consisting of initiatives regarding a maritime patrol network; integrated maritime surveillance systems; resurveying of major shipping routes and ports, developing e-navigation, enhancing maritime education and training, reducing accidents in fisheries and analysing the risk of liquefied natural gas carriers sailing on the Baltic Sea, altogether address in a broad sense the areas important to maritime safety and security in the Baltic Sea Region and bear the potential of making the region a leading region in the world regarding maritime safety and security. The Steering Committee underlines the importance of a broad participation in the Priority Area activities and in the meetings of the Steering Committee. For that reason, the Priority Area Coordinators will take efforts to improve participation of authorities from all EU Member States and will also encourage participation of Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation as well as International Financial Institutions and relevant organisations. The Steering Committee considers it important to link the various flagship projects and encourages the project leaders to cooperate closely. This also includes related flagship projects under other priority areas of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The Steering Committee is ready to assist in disseminating the results and recommendations of the respective projects. While recognising the importance of advanced technology, it should be kept in mind that the human element is still crucial to maritime safety and security, and that safety constantly should be on the mind of each mariner. Thus, education, training and life-long learning play 9

10 a paramount role in the efforts to develop maritime safety and security in the Baltic Sea Region as well as globally. 10