Helcom : Accidents and response

Accidents and response

SCGcombatingweb[1].jpg The last ten years have seen a steadily growing maritime traffic - a sign for the intensified co-operation in the Baltic Sea region and a prospering economy.

This also means that ship accidents causing marine pollution have become more probable. HELCOM is annually collecting data on ship accidents in the Baltic Sea.

Compilations on Ship Accidents in the Baltic Sea Area:

Major oil incidents in the Baltic Sea 1988 - 2003 resulting in an outflow of more than 100 tons of oil

Year	Name of ship	Tons of oil spilled	Location
2003	Fu Shan Hai	1,200	Bornholm, Denmark/Sweden
2001	Baltic Carrier	2,700	Kadetrenden, Denmark
1998	Nunki	100 m3	Kalundborg Fjord, Denmark
1995	Hual Trooper	180	The Sound, Sweden
1990	Volgoneft	1,000	Karlskrona, Sweden

HELCOM working to ensure preparedness

A swift national and transnational response to marine pollution incidents at sea is of outmost importance - the marine environment of the Baltic Sea is vulnerable and highly sensitive to any release of oil or other harmful substances. The Baltic Sea countries are working together to ensure swift response to the pollution incidents in the Baltic. There are around 70 dedicated response vessels (vessels with oil response equipment which can be used for international assistance) available in the region, many of the vessels with substantial towing capacity, and additional vessels are available for accidents in ports and coastal waters. A lot of attention is being paid to establish adequate emergency capacity as well as to meet the challenges of addressing the oil spills in ice. The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and HELCOM Recommendation 28E/12 "Strengthening of sub-regional co-operation in response field" kicked-off speeded actions to ensure preparedness on sub-regional level in the Baltic, corresponding to "medium-size" accidents, where countries by "sharing" their resources can build a common pool of vessels and equipment sufficient for their area of responsibility.

The preparedness of the HECOM states to jointly respond to pollution incidents has been several times demonstrated following the major oil spills of last decades.

Check the HELCOM map and data service for more information on the accidents in the Baltic Sea and preparedness of the Baltic Sea countries to respond to them. A table containing information on the dedicated response resources in the Baltic Sea (as of December 2011) can be found here.

Links

An updated assessment of the risk for oil spills in the Baltic Sea Area, July 2002