Former long-term Chair of HELCOM RESPONSE was awarded with Honorary Medal of Merit for his international achievements in seamanship

"International Cooperation in Response to Pollution at Sea Will Remain Important" 

Thomas Fagö, from the Swedish Coast Guard Headquarters, received an Honorary Medal of Merit on 11 November 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden. The honour, awarded for his international achievements in seamanship by the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences, was presented by Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess of Sweden.

Over the years, Mr Fagö has greatly contributed in numerous forums, and in various roles, to response to pollution at sea. He was Chair of the HELCOM RESPONSE Group during 2002 – 2009 and played a major part in the preceding groups dealing with response to pollution at sea such as the Combating Committee and Sea-based Pollution Group from 1998 – 2001. Last year, he received a Merit in International Maritime Achievements from the French Ministry of Environment. Mr Fagö has worked with the Baltic Sea for 45 years - two decades as an officer in the navy followed by time in the Swedish Coast Guard.

 

1. When and how did you get to know that you were nominated for this Honorary Medal of Merit?

Actually, I wasn’t aware of being nominated at all - I just received a phone call a few weeks ago informing me that I’ll be awarded the medal. I was happy and proud at the same time because I think this international recognition is very much related to my work with HELCOM and that there are good achievements behind this.

 

2. How would you describe your work with HELCOM, especially the years as Chair of the RESPONSE Group? What achievements would you choose as particularly special to you and why?

Of course the Baltic Sea Action Plan (2007) was a great achievement and all the work leading to it has great importance. I’d also mention the HELCOM Copenhagen Declaration in 2001 as being of key importance in strengthening international cooperation and better combating pollution from ships. It saw the start of a roadmap that declared what we should achieve in preventing accidents in the Baltic Sea and how, and to raise political interest in adopting these measures. The Declaration opened up gates in many places and made access to resources easier in oil response.

 

Many processes started back then, like the Wastewater Risk Assessment, which has since evolved greatly. The HELCOM Fleet with as many as 40 vessels was also established to recover and store

oil onboard in response activities. The annual exercises still continue to this day - something that is of great importance. But of course normal daily routines, such as preparing manuals, are also meaningful.

 

3. Which challenges were meaningful at that time?

The increase in oil transport and the fact that ships were getting larger was, of course, a challenge. However, this has since been offset by improvements in aerial surveillance, for instance, which means that we can now monitor sea traffic more effectively. Satellite surveillance in Sweden and Finland started some 12 years ago and this, for its part, helped to raise the interest of the EU. HELCOM acted as the trigger for the establishment of the European Maritime Safety Agency’s CleanSeaNet satellite service.

 

4. In your opinion, what would be the key areas of future work in response to pollution in the Baltic Sea and for what reasons?

 

I think the risk assessment regarding oil accidents and projects like BRISK and its follow-up will be important. I'd like to highlight the importance of international cooperation and stress that this form of cooperation should be initiated early on. I speak from experience when I say that it’s not always necessary to start at the local, regional or national levels - international collaboration should begin from the early stages and this is why HELCOM is so important. In doing so, there’s more potential for less overlaps and delays as well as improved prospects for better preparedness and resources.

 

Indeed, it’s crucial to be prepared from the very beginning and not to wait for accidents to happen! The recovery of oil is much more efficient at sea than on the shore - a fact that should be remembered as the baseline. Prevention and early response are the key words in this field.

 

5. What plans and expectations do you have for your time as a retiree? Do you still plan to make the Baltic Sea part of your life?

I’ve retired but I still work part time in training programmes for townships and as an advisory expert in EU projects. What’s been particularly interesting is my involvement in NordStream in Sweden, where I can view the Baltic Sea from an industry’s perspective