Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission
Group of Experts on Safety of Navigation Copenhagen, Denmark, 29 September 2016
SAFE NAV 7-2016
Page 1 of 15
Document title Information on the outcomes of recent HELCOM meetings
Code 2-2
Category INF
Agenda Item 2 – Information from the Secretariat
Submission date 20.09.2016
Submitted by Secretariat
Reference
Background
Information on the outcomes of the following meetings within the framework of HELCOM held in the
intersessional period is available in the HELCOM Meeting Portal:
- 37th Meeting of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM 37-2016), Helsinki, Finland, 10-11 March 2016,
- 49th Meeting of the HELCOM Heads of Delegation (HOD 49-2015), Helsinki, Finland, 10-11 December 2015,
- 50th Meeting of the HELCOM Heads of Delegation (HOD 50-2016), Laulasmaa, Estonia, 15-16 June 2016,
- 16th Meeting of the HELCOM Maritime Group (MARITIME 16-2016), Tallinn, Estonia, 6-8 September 2016,
- 27th Meeting of the Expert Working Group for Mutual Exchange and Deliveries of AIS & Data (AIS EWG 27-2016), St. Petersburg, Russia, 31 May – 1 June 2016,
- 21st Meeting of the HELCOM Response Group (RESPONSE 21-2016), Stockholm, Sweden, 15-17 March 2016,
- Fourth Meeting of the HELCOM Expert Group on environmental risks of hazardous submerged objects (SUBMERGED 4-2016), Tallinn, Estonia, 12-14 April 2016,
- Twelfth Meeting of the Joint HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning Working Group (HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG 12-2016), Gdansk, Poland, 24-25 February 2016.
The Meeting is also invited to take note of the overall developments around regional AIS data products, including density maps of shipping produced for the needs of to EU funded projects SCOPE and Baltic Lines (separate document under Agenda item 2) focusing on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), including a new HELCOM web GIS map service enabling browsing of these shipping density maps (http://maps.helcom.fi/website/AISexplorer/index.html ). The data currently presented in the tool was created for the purposes of the SCOPE project focusing on the central and southern Baltic, but this will be replaced with Baltic wide datasets by early next year.
Action requested
The Meeting is invited to take note of the outcomes and to discuss issues of relevance to HELCOM SAFE NAV under relevant Agenda Items.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 2 of 15
Extracts from the outcomes of HELCOM meetings after SAFE NAV 6-2015
(Meetings listed according to date)
HOD 49-2015 10-11 December 2015
Maritime and Response
4.74 The Meeting took note of the outcome of the 15th Meeting of the HELCOM Maritime
Working Group (MARITIME 15-2015), Klaipeda, Lithuania, 23-25 November 2015 (documents 4-30 and 4-
30-Corr.1).
4.75 The Meeting congratulated Ms. Anna Petersson, Sweden, Ms. Natalia Kutaeva, Russia, and
Mr. Jorma Kämäräinen, Finland, for re-election as chair and vice-chairs, respectively, of the Maritime
Working Group for the next two-year period (2016-2017).
4.76 The Meeting approved organizing the next meeting of the Maritime Working Group during
the week 5-9 September 2016.
4.77 The Meeting adopted the Terms of Reference for the Joint HELCOM-OSPAR Task Group on
Ballast Water Management Convention Exemptions (HELCOM-OSPAR TG BALLAST) for 2015-2016
(document 4-31) with the information that HELCOM considers the footnote as deleted.
4.78 The Meeting took note that the 2004 IMO Ballast Water Management Convention is very
close to entry into force as on the basis of preliminary calculations by the IMO Secretariat only a fraction of
a percentage is missing from the remaining unfulfilled criteria on ratified flag state tonnage.
4.79 The Meeting recalled that HELCOM and OSPAR have carried out substantial work on
preparing for the implementation of the BWM Convention in the Baltic and North-East Atlantic regions and
noted that with entry into force of the Convention the results will likely collect increased interest from
other regions.
4.80 The Meeting noted that one of the central products is the HELCOM-OSPAR Joint Harmonised
Procedure, a system to implementat regulation A-4 (exemptions) of the BWMC, and that the online risk
assessment tool would benefit from enhancements to make it more user friendly.
4.81 The Meeting took note that a revision to HELCOM Recommendation 25/7 has been endorsed
by MARITIME and will be submitted to HELCOM 37-2016 for adoption.
4.82 The Meeting took note that Sweden relies mainly on criminal sanctions, which limits a
practical application of harmonized level of administrative fines to be considered by the ongoing revision of
HELCOM Recommendation 19/14.
4.83 The Meeting took note of the draft Roadmap for designating a NECA in the Baltic Sea in
parallel with the North Sea (document 4-29) as well as the NECA-related outcome of MARITIME 15-2015 as
presented by Demark (Annex 3).
4.84 The Meeting took note of the statement by Germany, supported by WWF, that the
postponement of NECA submission dates and effective date in the NECA Roadmap to 2021 is not their first
option but can be accepted for the sake of compromise.
4.85 The Meeting considered further steps how to proceed with the NECA issue and with the
draft roadmap and welcomed that Denmark will submit a revised version, based on the outcome of
MARITIME 15-2015, to HELCOM 37-2016 for adoption.
4.86 The Meeting took note that national consultations are still ongoing in Finland, and therefore,
Finland will inform on their position on the timing of NECA at HELCOM 37-2016.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 3 of 15
4.87 The Meeting noted that Finland remains the only country that is not ready yet to decide on
the timing of the Baltic NECA, in parallel to the North Sea NECA.
4.88 The Meeting took note of the statement by the EU that it is important to keep in mind
appropriate procedures in Contracting Parties that are EU Member States when considering the different
steps under the NECA roadmap.
4.89 The Meeting considered the proposal by Sweden for financing model for the maintenance of
the Seatrack Web (STW) (document 4-16).
4.90 The Meeting took note that with regard to this financing scheme for Finland, Lithuania,
Germany and Latvia it is the only option that contributions from national institutions are paid directly to
SMHI hosting the tool.
4.91 The Meeting took note of the following comments by Contracting Parties on the financing of
the STW tool:
Denmark, Finland, Lithuania and Germany can support the contributions allocated to them in the
document 4-16.
Latvia needs to consider more the basis of calculating the contribution.
Russia is not prepared to participate as Russia is using another model and is not in favour of using
HELCOM budget for the scheme.
Poland and Estonia need more time for national consultations.
4.92 The Meeting invited Poland, Estonia and Latvia to clarify their position to Sweden as soon as
possible.
4.93 The Meeting adopted the proposed core pressure indicator on oil spills affecting the marine
environment (document 4-9) with the change that Figure 1 (page 5) should include both flight hours and
estimates of volume of spills, and pending the confirmation by Germany by end of this year.
4.94 The Meeting approved the proposal for HELCOM Project on Maritime Assessment (Annex 4)
to enable involvement of the needed expertise and took note of the outline of the Maritime Assessment
(document 4-23). The Meeting took note of the Russian proposal to cover the positive long-term trends
such as the significant decrease in illegal spills in the Baltic Sea 1989-2015 and reduction of emission of
sulphur from shipping.
4.95 The Meeting took note of the Baltic LINes project to be implemented 2016-2019 (document
4-34).
Follow-up system for HELCOM agreements
4.96 The Meeting took note of the presentation by the Secretariat of the draft assessment of
accomplishment of HELCOM actions implemented at a regional level and the test case of an action
implemented at the national level, carried out by the Secretariat as requested by GEAR 12-2015 (document
4-15, 4-15 Att 1, Presentation 2).
4.97 The Meeting recalled that the system covers actions committed under the Baltic Sea Action
Plan and 2010 and 2013 Ministerial Declarations as well as HELCOM Recommendations adopted since the
BSAP.
4.98 The Meeting noted that the evaluation criteria for the follow-up of actions have been
reviewed by HELCOM Working Groups during 2015. The Meeting further noted that the aim is to create a
web-based implementation database with possibility to extract results and to visualize results based on a
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 4 of 15
set of pre-defined figures and that the technical completion of the system is supported by resources from
the EU co-financed BalticBOOST project.
4.99 The Meeting welcomed the system as a transparent way to follow progress of
accomplishment of HELCOM commitments and was of the view that it will simplify the reporting by
Contracting Parties.
4.100 The Meeting noted that the WWF welcomed the development of a transparent follow-up of
HELCOM agreements.
4.101 The Meeting considered the proposal to report actions implemented at the national level by
mid-February 2016 with the view to presenting first exmplary draft results as progress report to HELCOM
37-2016. The Meeting noted that a majority of Contracting Parties will be able to provide reporting of
national actions within this time-frame while other Contracting Parties were not in a position to guarantee
reporting on all themes by this time.
4.102 The Meeting agreed on a step-wise approach on the reporting where two themes would be
reported by mid-February 2016 and two themes by end of February 2016 and invited the countries to
finalize the reporting according to this time-table as far as possible. For one specific theme with the fewest
number of actions, still to be identified, all Contracting Parties are requested to prioritize reporting by mid-
February in order to be able to present results at HELCOM 37-2016.
4.103 The Meeting discussed two options of visualizing implementation of national actions and was
of the view that they could be visualized by displaying accomplishment of individual actions by all
Contracting Parties in the same figure (cf. figure 3, document 4-15), or by preparing web-pages listing
country-wise accomplishment of actions. The Meeting noted that Lithuania preferred the first option while
Denmark will return with a clarification on the preferred visualization within a week.
4.104 The Meeting noted the comment by Russia on the importance of clarifying the information
contained in document 4-15 and 4-15-Att.1 before making it available to the general public.
4.105 The Meeting took note that Denmark might come back regarding the criteria for assessing
accomplishment by mid-February 2016 (by Gear meeting).
4.106 The Meeting noted that Sweden wished to see a possibility to seek for synergies with
identifying reporting requirements as under e.g. EU directives and to the EEA.
HELCOM institutional and organisational matters
5.8 The Meeting was concerned about late submission and high number of documents to the
working group meetings and HOD 49 meeting that cannot be properly coordinated anymore within
different governmental systems and such short deadlines. The Meeting agreed to review the status of
HELCOM’s streamlining, including organizational and work flows, in HOD 50-2016 next June.
HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG 12-2016 24-25 February 2016
[No extracts provided for Joint HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning Working Group Meeting 12-2016
– see the above outcome link]
HELCOM 37-2016 10-11 March 2016
NOx Emission Control Area (NECA)
4.28 The Meeting considered the draft roadmap for the Baltic Sea and the North Sea NECAs as
included in document 4-3, introduced by Denmark.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 5 of 15
4.29 The Meeting recalled that eight out of nine coastal countries have already expressed
readiness to agree on the roadmap as included in document 4-3.
4.30 The Meeting welcomed the information that the remaining country Finland has also clarified
its position and can now agree on the NECA Roadmap included in document 4-3.
4.31 The Meeting agreed on the final wording of the roadmap as included in document 4-3-Rev.1,
confirmed the decision to submit the proposal by the HELCOM countries to designate the Baltic Sea as a
NOx Emission Control Area with the corresponding submission by the North Sea countries to IMO Marine
Environment Protection Committee 70 in 2016 and adopted the “Roadmap for the simultaneous
designation of Baltic Sea and the North Sea NECAs” as included in Annex 4.
4.32 The Meeting highlighted that this decision to adopt the NECA Roadmap is one of the major
single decisions HELCOM has taken during the last years in terms of concrete nutrient pollution reduction
potential and took note of the statement by the Chair on the occasion (Annex 5) where he thanked the
Contracting Parties for having the courage to take this important decision for the Baltic Sea marine
environment.
4.33 The Meeting requested the Contracting Parties to submit suggestions for concrete updates
to the IMO NECA submission and background document by 31 March 2016 and welcomed the offer by
Finland to coordinate the updating process together with the HELCOM Secretariat with a view of submitting
the revised files to HOD 50-2016 for adoption according to the NECA roadmap.
4.34 The Meeting took note of the statement by the EU that with regard to those Contracting
Parties that are also EU Member States there is an obligation to coordinate positions within the EU, with
appropriate involvement of the Shipping Working Party.
Safety of Navigation
4.35 The Meeting adopted the revisions to HELCOM Recommendation 25/7 on safety of winter
navigation as included in document 4-2 (Annex 6) and agreed to keep the current Recommendation
number 25/7, important due to direct references in, i.a., the IMO Polar Code.
Sewage from Passenger ships
4.36 The Meeting emphasized the importance of reducing nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea from
ships’ sewage, and recalled the agreement in the 2013 HELCOM Copenhagen Ministerial Declaration
meaning that the Contracting Parties undertake to ensure adequate port reception facilities prior the
application dates of the Baltic Sea Special Area requirements.
4.37 The Meeting underlined the urgency to enhance the work in this regard and continue the
efforts to make certain that all relevant concerns are properly addressed and recognized the need for
continuous regional data collection and monitoring of the progress and improvements already made.
4.38 The Meeting decided to request the HELCOM Maritime Group to include necessary action
items in the existing work plan of the HELCOM Cooperation Platform on Port Reception Facilities and to
prioritize the group’s work accordingly.
4.39 The Meeting welcomed the information by Germany on organization of the International
Workshop on Port Reception Facilities for the Baltic Sea as Special Area according to MARPOL Annex IV
(PRF-Workshop) in Kiel, Germany on 30 June – 1 July 2016, to be organized by BSH in co-operation with
Port of Kiel and BPO, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building
and Nuclear Safety. The draft concept of the workshop was distributed during the Meeting and all
Contracting Parties are invited to attend the workshop.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 6 of 15
RESPONSE 21-2016 15-17 March 2016
Maritime traffic
3.1 The Meeting took note of the outline of the HELCOM Assessment on Maritime Activities
2016 (Maritime Assessment) (document 3-2) including the timeline of production:
- first draft to be circulated by the Secretariat in June 2016
- further elaborated draft later in the autumn
- final version ready by the end of 2016
3.2 The Meeting recalled that the Maritime Assessment will provide an overview of long-term
developments in maritime activities in the Baltic Sea as well as future prospects and possible policy
developments and that it will also use as an information source 10-year of AIS data collected in the
HELCOM AIS server.
3.3 The Meeting requested the Contracting Parties and Observers to provide feedback on the
Assessment outline and suggestions for the content to the Secretariat ([email protected]) by 15
April.
3.4 The Meeting recalled that the data collected and used for the Assessment will also be used in
updating the GIS data available via the HELCOM map and data service.
3.5 The Meeting took note that the publishing of accident data for 2014 has been delayed due to
the development of the Maritime Assessment, that the data will be published in 2016 as part of the
Maritime Assessment process, and that a request for 2015 accident data will be issued shortly by the
Secretariat.
3.6 The Meeting took note of the Outcome of the Sixth Meeting of the HELCOM Group of
Experts on Safety of Navigation (SAFE NAV 6-2015) held on 1 October 2015 at Stockholm-Arlanda, Sweden.
The next meeting of the group (SAFE NAV 7-2016) will be held on 29 October 2016 in Denmark.
3.7 The Meeting took note that the main topic of SAFE NAV 6-2015 was draft Baltic Sea
information on Under Keel Clearance, which has resulted in a new chapter in the updated HELCOM Clean
Seas Guide 2016 to be published in due time after some pending comments on MARPOL Annex II have
been clarified.
3.8 The Meeting took note of the presentation by Mr. Robert Aps, University of Tartu, Estonian
Marine Institute, on the BONUS STORMWINDS (Strategic and operational risk management for wintertime
maritime transportation system) project (Presentation 1).
3.9 The Meeting took note of the presentation by Mr. Ojars Gerke, Latvia (Latvian Coast Guard is
one of the end users of the project), on the GEOILWATCH (Geopositional early warning system integration
for disaster prevention in the Baltic Sea) project (Presentation 2).
3.10 The Meeting took note of the information by the Secretariat that it has together with three
partners prepared a proposal with the aim to provide tools for risk assessments for regional cooperation
structures on preparedness and response to the DG ECHO call.
3.11 The Meeting took note of the information by Finland that the work of the Correspondence
Group under the HELCOM Maritime Working Group (WG) led by Finland on ship-to-ship (STS) and
bunkering activities needs more input from some Contracting Parties.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 7 of 15
3.12 The Meeting invited the Contracting Parties who have not provided answers to the STS
questionnaire to do so in order to make it possible for Finland to provide good input to MARITIME 16-2016
(5-9 September 2016).
3.13 The Meeting took note that Finland is preparing legislation on STS and is interested to learn
about STS experiences in neighbouring countries.
Wrecks and other submerged hazardous objects
8.1 The Meeting took note of the outcome of the Third Meeting of the HELCOM Expert Group on
Environmental Risks of Hazardous Submerged Objects (SUBMERGED 3-2015), which was held on 14-15
October 2015 in Gothenburg, Sweden (document 8-4), back-to-back with the conference “Wrecks of the
World III”. The next meeting of the group (SUBMERGED 5-2016) will be held on 12-13 April 2016 in Tallinn,
Estonia.
8.2 The Meeting recalled that according to the Terms of Reference the mandate for SUBMERGED
is for three years until end of 2016 for producing a one-off HELCOM thematic assessment on environmental
risks of hazardous submerged objects covering contaminated wrecks, lost or dumped dangerous goods (e.g.
containers), chemical munitions and other objects based on the information and data compiled and
assessed.
8.3 The Meeting took note of the SUBMERGED activities as presented in document 8-2
(Presentation 8).
8.4 The Meeting supported of the SUBMERGED work until the end of 2018, requested the
SUBMERGED Group to provide short chapters on the three SUBMERGED topics to the Secretariat
([email protected]) for the Maritime Assessment by end of May 2016, requested that for clarity
the Group moves from standing Chairs to rotating chairmanship depending on the topic -using the currently
identified topic leads as rotating Chairs (Chemical munitions: Mr. Jens Sternheim&Jacek Beldowski, Wrecks:
Jorma Rytkönen and Other Matters: Mr. Gunnar Möller) and urged Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia
to engage in the work of SUBMERGED.
8.5
8.6 The Meeting took note of the presentation by Finland on the two-year BONUS SWERA
(Sunken Wreck Environmental Risk Assessment) project, which will terminate in April 2016 (document 8-1,
Presentation 8).
8.7 The Meeting took note of the information that Finland and Sweden have conducted wreck
surveys to assess slicks from wrecks with potential risks and by Poland that new wrecks are being checked
for the same reason. Sweden will start looking into environmentally dangerous wrecks, Poland is working
on a national waste management plan and tackling of high risk wrecks has also been included in the
national program of measures and Estonia is preparing ratification of the Nairobi Convention.
8.8 The Meeting took note of the information by Sweden on the three year Interreg DiveSMART
Baltic project (kick-off 14 March 2016) (document 8-3). The project has focus on mapping diving
competences and resources in the Baltic Sea region (database), common training and exercises, common
guidelines and procedures, research and general exchange of experiences.
8.9 The Meeting recalled that the intensive passenger traffic in the Baltic Sea makes an accident
like Costa Concordia possible, while national diving capacity could clearly not handle such an incident, and
welcomed Sweden to keep the Response WG updated on the project.
8.10 The Meeting took note of the information on the Interreg DAIMON project (document 8-5,
Presentation 8).
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 8 of 15
Investigation and prosecution of offenders of anti-pollution regulations
9.17 The Meeting took note of the information on the progress of revising HELCOM
Recommendation 19/14 under the lead of Denmark which will be discussed at MARITIME 16-2016 (5-9
September 2016).
Places of Refuge
10.11 The Meeting took note of the EU Operational Guidelines on Places of Refuge, which were
approved on 13 November 2015 (document 10.3-1).
10.12 The Meeting took note that the guidelines have a background in the “Flaminia” incident
when the ship had big difficulties in finding a Place of Refuge and the incident triggered a process in order
to develop an operational guideline on Places of Refuge.
10.13 The Meeting took note that Sweden is looking for ways to implement the guidelines
nationally.
HELCOM Recommendations
12.2 The Meeting took note of the information on the progress by the Chair of TG POLREP
including a proposal from the TG POLREP Chair on how an electronic POLREP system could be generated
based on the Latvian national Safe Sea Net.
12.3 The Meeting took note that Russian Federation uses POLREPs in all its sea areas and needs to
choose a way how to make submissions of HELCOM messages convenient.
12.4 The Meeting took note that sending information from the EU systems CECIS and SSN to the
Russian Federation could be explored.
12.5 The Meeting requested that the Chair of TG POLREP will send the concept paper to Response
WG contacts, that TG POLREP organises a meeting to prepare a proposal timely for RESPONSE 22-2016 and
that Contracting Parties, especially Russian Federation, contribute actively to the work.
12.6 The Meeting requested the Secretariat to examine the possibility to organise the TG POLREP
meeting back to back with MARITIME 16-2016.
12.7 The Meeting took note of the currently valid HELCOM Recommendations in the field of
Maritime and Response Working Group and the ongoing process to update them (document 12-2) and
highlighted that Recommendation 18/2 on offshore activities and 20/5 on oil terminals are in need of
revision.
SUBMERGED 4-2016 12-14 April 2016
SUBMERGED Assessment current status
2.1 The Meeting requested further information on the HOLAS II deadlines and needs
([email protected] ) and expressed willingness to contribute with updated data.
2.2 The Meeting recalled that RESPONSE 21-2016 (15-17 March 2016) requested the
SUBMERGED Group to provide short chapters on the three SUBMERGED topics to the Secretariat
([email protected]) for the Maritime Assessment by the end of May 2016.
2.3 The Meeting took note of HELCOM Assessment activities including the HELCOM Maritime
Assessment (document 2-1) and agreed to provide available material (maps and figures) to the Secretariat
([email protected]) by the end of May 2016, who will, based on this or available material,
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 9 of 15
compile a short chapter to be published as part of the Maritime Assessment and circulate it for comments
in the beginning of June.
2.4 The Meeting compiled the available material (documents 2-2, 2-3, 2-4) as document 2-5-
WP.1 and developed it in plenary as document 2-5-WP.2.
2.5 The Meeting established two drafting groups, on warfare materials and wrecks, who edited
and commented the available material further as included in Annex 5.
2.6 The Meeting considered and agreed to the material included in Annex 5 to be a starting
point for further work at the next meeting of the SUBMERGED group.
Work plan and future meetings
6.1 The Meeting recalled that RESPONSE 21-2016 (15-17 March 2016) supported the
SUBMERGED work until the end of 2018 and requested that for clarity the Group moves from standing
Chairs to rotating chairmanship depending on the topic - using the currently identified topic leads as
rotating Chairs and urged Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia to engage in the work of SUBMERGED.
6.2 The Meeting discussed how to attract the missing Contracting Parties and concluded that as
a first step the Secretariat should contact Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia on participation and also
enquire if the Russian Federation has the possibility to organize a future SUBMERGED meeting in Russia.
6.3 The Meeting discussed the lack of input in the field of dumped waste and lost cargo,
expressed a wish that more experts would be available in the future, but in the current situation strongly
requested that the SUBMERGED Assessment should focus on wrecks and warfare material.
AIS EWG 27-2016 31 May – 1 June 2016
Use of data
4.1 The Meeting welcomed the draft HELCOM guidance regarding best practices in data handling
and definitions of certain AIS data products (document 4-1-Rev.1) as presented by the Secretariat
(Presentation 4).
4.2 The Meeting took note that several Contracting Parties make density maps.
4.3 The Meeting recommended that the substance of document 4-1-Rev.1 should be developed
further to a new HELCOM Recommendation and requested the Secretariat to provide a draft for further
consideration.
4.4 The Meeting recommended that the Secretariat should organise a seminar on the use of
HELCOM AIS during the autumn 2016, which could provide input for future EU or world-wide events on the
use of AIS data.
Access to HELCOM AIS
4.5 The Meeting considered the revision of HELCOM Recommendation 33/1 “Unified
interpretation in relation to access to and use of HELCOM AIS” (document 4-2); revision of Appendix 1 to
allow access to the Baltic AIS data to cover also projects not falling under the uses specified in the
Appendix, and revision of Appendix 2 to correspond to the new hosting arrangements (c.f. Paragraph 5.14).
4.6 The Meeting recalled that Denmark, Norway and Finland have made decisions to open up
AIS data to the general public, inter alia, in order to stimulate new business opportunities.
4.7 The Meeting took note that Estonia and Lithuania have also made steps to make data more
easily available and that in Russia AIS data is shared increasingly between authorities.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 10 of 15
4.8 The Meeting was of the opinion that such developments should be reflected in the revision
of Appendix 1 of HELCOM Recommendation 33/1 regarding the use of, and access to, HELCOM AIS data.
4.9 The Meeting invited the Secretariat to provide proposals to revise Appendix 2 of the
Recommendation according to the outcome of discussions on hosting of the HELCOM AIS server.
4.10 The Meeting discussed and commented the first draft data model and service type
specification for historical AIS data provided by Finland (document 4-3, Annexes A and B).
4.11 The Meeting took note of the comment by the Chair that a harmonized query
specification/language would be useful to define but the delivery/answer of data queries would perhaps be
better to be done as NMEA sentences including comment block, and not in processed form (e.g. CSV) as
suggested in the document.
Hosting of HELCOM AIS Server
5.1 The Meeting took note of the information by Denmark on the Danish decision to discontinue
the agreement with HELCOM on hosting the HELCOM AIS server and user interface with effect 1 January
2017 (document 5-1).
5.2 The Meeting thanked Denmark for the contributions made over the last decade to the
HELCOM AIS network.
5.3 All the Delegations present agreed that the regional HELCOM AIS service is both used and
highly needed and should be continued.
5.4 The Meeting considered the minimum requirements of the HELCOM AIS network for a future
host and for clarity drafted a list of minimum and additional functions as follows:
MINIMUM (functions provided by host):
Providing sharing of joint, real time of live data stream between members of the network with the
needed processing (Removing duplicates)
Sufficient reliability of live data stream service 24/7.
Compiling and storing historic data from live data stream and enabling retrieval.
ADDITIONAL (functions to be implemented by interested CPs/ Secretariat):
Statistics
Web-based clients
Monitoring the quality of data
Extensive historic databases
5.5 The Meeting agreed to the minimum requirements from EMSA in order that the regional
server should be considered to be a component of the central SSN system:
Collection, storage, back-up and re-distribution as well as monitoring the availability and quality of
the data.
Furthermore, the server shall comply with the security and reliability requirements of the SSN
system and relay AIS data from the national SSN systems of the EU Member States to the central
SSN system.
5.6 The Meeting discussed different options for hosting arrangements of the HELCOM AIS
network and resulting historic data based on the identified priorities.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 11 of 15
5.7 The Meeting took note that Norway (Kystverket) was ready to host the HELCOM AIS
network. In addition, Gatehouse provided an offer presented by the Chair and Russia informed they might
ask further in the Federal Marine Agency for national possibilities of hosting the AIS network.
5.8 The Meeting took note of the reply by Finland to the DMA announcement (document 5-2)
and noted the Finnish support for the suggestion to ask the HELCOM Secretariat to take over the
maintenance of HELCOM network and the related services.
5.9 The Meeting took note that several Contracting Parties supported the general idea that the
HELCOM AIS would be hosted by a non-state entity including the HELCOM Secretariat.
5.10 Estonia extended gratitude to the Danish Maritime Administration and supported the
proposal for the HELCOM Secretariat to take over the management and maintenance of HELCOM AIS
services.
5.11 The Meeting took note of the information from the Secretariat that it would be possible for
the Secretariat to maintain the HELCOM AIS in the future as the competence of the Secretariat in AIS is
growing but it would likely require a longer preparatory period to gather resources and get necessary
decisions from HELCOM HOD.
5.12 The Meeting took note of the information from EMSA that HELCOM is one of four regional
centres providing AIS data to EMSA and agreed that as a priority the flow of AIS data should continue and
should not be risked.
5.13 The Meeting noted that while the involvement of a commercial operator like Gatehouse
could have its benefits it would have to be, for EMSA and HELCOM purposes, tied to a public body like the
HELCOM Secretariat or a national agency, and would require public tendering as well as corresponding
special contributions to the HELCOM budget or to a national institution.
5.14 The Meeting took note of the information from the Secretariat that a similar funding scheme
as the one to be applied in the case of a commercial operator was recently attempted for the HELCOM STW
but did not succeed due to administrative difficulties.
5.15 The Meeting welcomed the offer from Norway to host HELCOM AIS based on the minimum
requirements and decided to recommend to HELCOM HOD that the Secretariat and the Contracting Parties
would take the necessary steps to move the HELCOM AIS services from Denmark (DMA) to Norway
(Kystverket) before the end of 2016.
5.16 The Meeting requested that a meeting should be arranged between Norway, Denmark,
EMSA and the HELCOM Secretariat close to the migration of the hosting of HELCOM AIS.
Future work and meetings
8.1 The Meeting recalled that HELCOM AIS EWG 25-2014 elected Mr. Marek Dziewicki, Poland,
as Vice-Chair of HELCOM AIS EWG for the period 2015-2016 and Mr. Omar Eriksson, Denmark, as Chair of
HELCOM AIS EWG for the period 2014-2017.
8.2 The Meeting re-elected Mr. Marek Dziewicki, Poland, as Vice-Chair of HELCOM AIS EWG for
the period 2017-2019 and congratulated him for the election.
8.3 The Meeting regretted that due to the recent restructuring at DMA, Mr. Omar Eriksson
would not be available as Chair of HELCOM AIS EWG and thanked him for the work as EWG Chair during AIS
EWG 26-2015 and AIS EWG 27-2016.
8.4 The Meeting discussed the chairmanship of the EWG, took note that administrational
restructuring put some limitations to the involvement of the Vice-Chair and agreed that a Chair of HELCOM
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 12 of 15
AIS EWG would be needed and invited the Secretariat to investigate on chairing possibilities of the
Contracting Parties intersessionally.
8.5 The Meeting agreed to arrange the next meeting of AIS EWG in Stockholm or Malmö,
Sweden, on 7-8 June 2017.
8.6 The Meeting agreed that if an extra meeting would be needed for the migration of the AIS
server, the Secretariat is invited to call for such a meeting during autumn 2016.
HOD 50-2016 15-16 June 2016
Shipping
4.17 The Meeting approved the final Baltic Sea NOx Emission Control Area application and the
related INF. document on NOx reducing technology (documents 4-12-Rev.1 and 4-12-Rev.2) and decided
that they will be submitted to the 70th session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (IMO
MEPC 70) for consideration.
4.18 The Meeting mandated Finland to make the necessary editorial amendments to the NECA
documents (documents 4-12-Rev.1 and 4-12-Rev.2) and to submit them on behalf of the Baltic Sea
countries to the MEPC 70 Meeting on 1 July 2016 at the latest, to be considered simultaneously with the
NECA submission by the North Sea countries.
4.19 The Meeting expressed appreciation to the lead country Finland for drafting and updating
the NECA application documents, Denmark and the Russian Federation for organising the NECA workshops
during spring 2016 and the remaining Contracting Parties for a constructive approach during the process.
4.20 The Meeting took note that Russia expressed its satisfaction that the INF document (4-12-
Rev.2) includes text which indicates the need to continue improving the related technology and underlined
the importance of all Contracting Parties to be actively involved and participate in workshops and other
activities within the framework of HELCOM.
4.21 The Meeting took note of the comment by Estonia that there is a need for enhanced
dialogue with the industry especially within the Maritime Group as a Baltic Sea NECA will result in
additional costs (capital and operational costs) and that there is a need to continue improving Exhaust Gas
Recirculation (EGR) technology to ensure that NOx removed from exhaust gases is not discharged to the
sea.
4.22 The Meeting took note that the NECA Roadmap will have been completed after the
submission of the NECA documents to IMO by 1 July 2016.
4.23 The Meeting welcomed the outcome of MEPC 69 that the Baltic Sea Special Area regulations
under MARPOL Annex IV will be applied on or after 1 June 2021 for existing IMO-registered passenger ships
(document 4-24). For new passenger ships, the regulations come into effect on or after 1 June 2019. For
direct passages between St. Petersburg and the North Sea, there is an extension until 1 June 2023.
4.24 The Meeting thanked Sweden for leading the work on designation of the Baltic Sea as
sewage control area and Ms. Anna Petersson, the Chair of HELCOM MARITIME, for facilitating the process
which enabled support from all Baltic Sea coastal countries.
4.25 The Meeting recalled that MARITIME 16-2016 will consider and revise the work plan of the
HELCOM Cooperation Platform on Port Reception Facilities (PRF).
4.26 The Meeting took note of the information on CLIA Simulation Exercise: wastewater
discharges in the Baltic Sea (document 4-21).
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 13 of 15
4.27 The Meeting highlighted that practical experiences on the PRF facilities in the region are
highly valuable and invited ports to provide similar information.
4.28 The Meeting took note of the Provisional Agenda for the International Workshop on Port
Reception Facilities for the Baltic Sea as Special Area according to MARPOL Annex IV, to be held in Kiel,
Germany, 30 June – 1 July 2016 (document 4-29) and appreciated the initiative by Germany. All Contracting
Parties are welcome to participate and are invited to provide input to the workshop.
4.29 The Meeting considered a new hosting arrangement for the regional HELCOM AIS (document
4-22-Rev.1), taking note that all Contracting Parties present at AIS EWG 27-2016 meeting agreed that the
regional HELCOM AIS service is both used and highly needed and should be continued.
4.30 The Meeting took note that the change in hosting by Norway does not create any direct
fees/ costs to the Contracting Parties.
4.31 The Meeting noted that the new hosting solution does not cover services for generation of
statistics and that this function will require that the Secretariat collects resources from EU projects or
similar sources.
4.32 The Meeting took note that the relocation of the HELCOM AIS system is not linked to any
renegotiation of the existing AIS Agreement and that HELCOM Recommendation 33/1 has to be updated to
reflect the migration of hosting.
4.33 The Meeting took note that nearly 1/3 of the actions included in the Roadmap for HELCOM
activities on ecosystem approach are depending on or benefiting from HELCOM AIS data.
4.34 The Meeting decided, according to recommendation by AIS EWG 27-2016, to move the
HELCOM AIS services from Denmark (DMA) to Norway (Kystverket) before the end of 2016, in order to
avoid breaks in the service.
4.35 The Meeting took note that all Baltic Sea EU member states are providing AIS information to
EMSA via the HELCOM AIS, and that hosting by Norway would ensure the continuation of this service.
4.36 The Meeting invited the Secretariat and the Contracting Parties to take the necessary steps
for the migration of the hosting of HELCOM AIS, including arranging a meeting between the Secretariat,
Norway, Denmark and EMSA.
HELCOM institutional and organisational matters
5.1 The Meeting took note of the information by Chair that following HOD 49-2015 decision, the
intersessional exchange of views took place among the Heads of Delegation on the status of HELCOM’s
streamlining regarding
1) many and bulky meeting documents, 2) how to revitalize the Commission meetings, 3) how to attract
high political interest and 4) implementation of HELCOM commitments.
5.2 Regarding the first topic the Chair concluded that progress is being made, for instance,
regarding the structure and more timely submission of documents, and that practical ideas for further
improvement were proposed.
MARITIME 16-2016 6-8 September 2016
Safety of navigation and related matters
9.1 The Meeting took note of the ongoing revision of the HELCOM dataset and report on
shipping accidents in the Baltic Sea region, as presented by the Secretariat on behalf of Mr. Valtteri Laine,
Trafi, Finland (Presentation 5).
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 14 of 15
9.2 The Meeting took note of the progress toward revised HELCOM accident reports and an
optimized historic accident data set in general as well as noted that HELCOM accident reports will be
discussed at the HELCOM SAFE NAV meeting on 29 September 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
9.3 The Meeting took note of the status report of HELCOM-BSHC Baltic Sea Re-survey Scheme
(document 9-2 and Presentation 6 by Seppo H. Mäkinen, Finland) and the status report of the FAMOS re-
surveying project (document 9-4 and Presentation 7 by Mr. Benjamin Hell, Sweden), as presented by Mr.
Hell.
9.4 The Meeting welcomed the information that according to current estimates by BSHC around
99 % of Category I & II areas will be resurveyed by 2020.
9.5 The Meeting took note that the Swedish Maritime Agency will shortly release a new version
of the re-survey plan website.
9.6 The Meeting took note of the work within FAMOS on developing solutions for 3D positioning
of vessels, which may in the future considerably reduce uncertainties and safety margins related to under
keel clearance (UKC).
9.7 The Meeting appreciated the considerable re-survey efforts of the hydrographic agencies of
the Baltic Sea countries since the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting 2001, and also in general the long and
fruitful cooperation with BSHC and its parent organisation IHO.
9.8 The Meeting endorsed the presented future actions to complete the re-surveys and
encouraged the member states of the EU to participate in EU INEA CEF Motorways of the Sea and Cohesion
funding programs to ensure the resources for hydrographic surveys in order to meet the Re-Survey Scheme
timetables agreed by the 2013 HELCOM Ministerial Meeting (Copenhagen, October 2013).
9.9 The Meeting recalled that even if crowdsourcing hydrographic surveys, in the sense of using
sonar data from non-official sources, is in use in some parts of the world it is not commonly used in the
Baltic Sea. However, there is a system in place in many coastal countries where observations of underwater
obstructions can be reported to the Hydrographic Agencies, which will include these to the official data
after checks.
9.10 The Meeting took note that HELCOM 37-2016 adopted the revisions to HELCOM
Recommendation 25/7 on safety of winter navigation and agreed to keep the current Recommendation
number 25/7, important due to direct references in, i.a., the IMO Polar Code.
9.11 The Meeting took note of the termination of the agreement between the Danish Maritime
Authority (DMA) and HELCOM on the HELCOM AIS Information Centre, as of 1 January 2017, regarding
handling of AIS data from the Baltic Sea countries and Norway and of the decision by HOD 50-2016 to move
the HELCOM AIS services from Denmark (DMA) to Norway (Kystverket) before the end of 2016 (document
9-1).
9.12 The Meeting took note of the information by the Secretariat on the general progress in AIS
data handling capacity including the recent work on shipping density maps and a web tool for browsing and
comparing such maps.
9.13 The Meeting took note of the information on the Baltic LINes project (document 9-3).
HELCOM publications, implementation and reporting
10.1 The Meeting took note of the information by the Secretariat on the delay in the production
of the HELCOM Assessment on Maritime Activities in the Baltic Sea region due to unexpected difficulties in
handling and analyzing AIS data which is a central source of key content for the publication.
SAFE NAV 7-2016, 2-2
Page 15 of 15
10.2 The Meeting took note of the presentation on HELCOM future scenarios for maritime
activities in the Baltic Sea on the basis of document 10-2 and the presentation of Ms. Annukka Pekkarinen,
WMU (Presentation 8).
10.3 The Meeting carried out a first round of the eDelfoi panel on HELCOM future scenarios for
maritime activities in the Baltic Sea and discussed future trends of maritime activities in the Baltic Sea in
general and on their environmental impacts.
10.4 The Meeting welcomed the initial results of the future scenarios, as presented by Ms.
Pekkarinen.
10.5 The Meeting commented the questionnaire provided in the eDelfoi panel.
10.6 The Meeting took note that the future scenarios session will be followed up in intersessional
work as a second round of the eDelfoi panel and requested all participants to contribute to this work.
10.7 The Meeting took note of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Clean Shipping Guide 2016 (document 10-
1), which was also distributed in printed copies during the Meeting.
10.8 The Meeting decided to postpone work on general overhaul of the Recommendations to the
next meeting.
10.9 The Meeting took note of the publishing of the HELCOM Activities report 2015 (BSEP No.
147).
Activities within other organizations and initiatives
11.1 The Meeting took note of the presentation by Mr. Maik Schmahl, European Commission, on
EU activities and co-operation within the field of clean shipping (Presentation 9).
11.2 The Meeting took note of the preliminary list of HELCOM and other meetings in late 2016
and in 2017 (document 11-1).
11.3 The Meeting requested the Contracting Parties to provide additional information on
meetings of relevance for MARITIME Contacts and Observers in order to make use of it when scheduling
the next meeting of HELCOM MARITIME as well as other activities.
11.4 The Meeting took note of the information by Ms. Ditte Folke Kikkert Henriksen on Priority
Areas PA Ship and PA Safe of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EU SBSR):
the last meeting of the Steering Committee of PA Safe was held in May in Turku, Finland, in
conjunction with the European Maritime Day and the next meeting will be held on 7-8 December
2016 in Copenhagen;
the last meeting of the Steering Committee of PA Ship was held in Copenhagen in April 2016 and
the next meeting will be held on 10 November 2016, back-to-back with the Annual Forum on EU
SBSR (8-9 November).