3 September 2011, Turku, Finland – Only one small mineral oil spill in a harbour and two other discharges were detected during HELCOM’s continuous six-day international aerial surveillance operation over the Northern Baltic Sea which ended at midday 3 September. This year’s Coordinated Extended Pollution Control Operation (SuperCEPCO) was co-organized by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the Finnish Border Guard. Six specially equipped aircraft participated from five countries - Estonia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. In addition, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) supported SuperCEPCO with satellite surveillance. 

The results of the SuperCEPCO operation again confirm the decreasing trend not only in the number of oil discharges in the Baltic, but also in their volume. There was only one mineral oil spill found (less than 10 litres), one discharge of palm stearin and one of an unknown substance. The national aerial surveillance data supports this finding, which is highly significant, considering that the density of shipping has grown so much in the Baltic Sea. Pollution surveillance has a substantial preventive effect on the illegal oil discharges since it promotes compliance with the anti-discharge regulations that require all ships operating in the Baltic Sea, with a few exceptions, to deliver all oily wastes to reception facilities before leaving port.

“The SuperCEPCO 2011 surveillance operation was a success. The international cooperation and coordination which both play such a crucial part in a joint operation were very satisfactory.  In addition, the highly-skilled and professional flight crews proved that the standardized international procedures are well adopted by all the participants,” says Heli Haapasaari, Head of the Marine Pollution Response Section in the Finnish Environment Institute.

The flights, which operated from Turku, Finland, surveyed a planned route over the northern Baltic Sea Proper and the western part of the Gulf of Finland for a total of 68 hours. The operation to detect oil spills remained classified until the last plane landed in order to prevent possible offenders from discovering the manoeuvres. Three patrol vessels from Sweden, five from Estonia and two from Finland were also on standby along the route to make on-board investigations of any ships found to be illegally discharging oil.

CEPCO has several objectives, such as to survey continuously high density traffic areas with a high risk of illegal discharges; identify and catch the polluters; practise communication between aircraft, patrol vessels and the Command Centres involved; improve cooperation between countries; and exchange experiences between crews.

Background:

HELCOM Contracting Parties carry out several cross-border surveillance operations annually.  CEPCO flights (CEPCO at least 24 hours; SuperCEPCO 6-10 days) contribute to the Baltic Sea marine protection according to HELCOM’s principles. The operation supports national aerial surveillance by detecting polluters who might not be otherwise identified. The intensity of SuperCEPCO enables a realistic estimation of the total number of oil spills over the Baltic Sea during a randomly selected time. In addition, helicopters, patrol vessels as well as the EMSA CleanSeaNet oil spill detection service enhance the coverage.

In 2010, 149 illegal oil discharges were detected during more than 4,200 hours of routine national surveillance flights in the Baltic Sea countries. Deliberate oil discharges from ships have been regularly observed with such flights since 1988. During the last decade, the number and size of detected oil spills has steadily decreased, even though the density of shipping has rapidly grown and the aerial surveillance activity in the countries has substantially improved.  Of the 149 detected oil spills in 2010, 97 were smaller than 100 litres and only two over 10 m³. The total estimated volume of the observed spills was 49,000 litres. Most illegal oil discharges are detected along major shipping routes, which was also the case in 2010.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the ‘Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area’, more commonly known as the Helsinki Convention.

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The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) is both a research institute and a centre for environmental expertise. SYKE is also the national competent pollution response and marine pollution surveillance authority.

The Finnish Border Guard is an expert in border security and sea rescue operations. Subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior, it is a modern government agency that has won international recognition for its capabilities.

The main duties of the Border Guard are: border surveillance; border checks; crime prevention; the security of territorial waters; international cooperation; and national defence.

Operating on land, at sea and in the air, it has successfully ensured security under all circumstances.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Johanna Laurila

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)40 523 8988

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: johanna.laurila@helcom.fi

Skype: helcom70

Ms. Heli Haapasaari

Head of Section

Marine Pollution Response section, Marine Research Centre

Finnish Environment Institute - SYKE

Tel. +358 (0)40 179 3050

E-mail: heli.haapasaari@environment.fi