The John Nurninen Foundation, the Finnish Transport Agency, the Finnish Transport Safety Agency and Neste Oil Ltd signed a commitment concerning Tanker Safety-co-operation in Helsinki on 3.6.2010.

attempts to prevent oil accidents in the Gulf of Finland

The Finnish Transport Agency, the FinnishTransport Safety Agency, Neste Oil and the John Nurminen Foundation have begun co-operation and development work within the framework of the Tanker Safety-Project.

The aim of the co-operation work is to reduce the risk of a major disaster in the Gulf of Finland. The basic idea is to develop the ENSI (Enhanced Navigation Support Information) -service.

The ship’s route plan is sent to the vessel traffic service via the ENSI-service

The ENSI-service enhances the exchange of information between vessels and the vessel traffic service. This is because through this service it is possible to send the ship’s route plan to shore. This enables the people working in the vessel traffic service to more efficiently anticipate potential risk situations and recommend to the ship, for example, an alternative route. At the same time there will be a reduction in the risks of misunderstanding and human errors.

”If a vessel traffic controller notices a departure from a safe route when s/he receives a route plan then s/he can recommend that the captain checks the route or can suggest an alternative route” explains Finland’s director of sea safety Tuomas Routa, from the Finnish Transport Safety Agency.

Juha Nurminen explained the background to the Tanker Safety-Project in the Gulf of Finland’s vessel traffic service in Helsinki.

If an accident occurs the whole of the Gulf of Finland could be covered in oil

The system is built onto the current GOFREP (Gulf of Finland Reporting). It is estimated that the introduction of the ENSI-service will only cost each ship in the region of one to two thousand Euros. The price is extremely cheap in comparison to the hundred-fold costs that an oil disaster would cause.

”The costs of the Exxon Valdez tanker running aground have risen to over three billion”, points out former commander of the Finnish defence forces, Admiral Juhani Kaskeala who is the director of the project’s steering group.

Therefore the preventing of an oil disaster is economically prudent compared to an accident, in which the costs could even run into billions. In addition to the financial costs, the environment will be unusable for years to come, which will result in damage and injury to plants, animals as well as to humans.

”If a one-hundred-thousand tonne tanker runs aground in the Gulf of Finland, then this would mean that in practice the whole of the Gulf would be covered in oil”, said Juha Nurminen a representative of the John Nurminen Foundation, in a news conference.

The oil prevention equipment currently being used in the Gulf of Finland would not be very effective in the event of a disaster. The Finnish equipment can be used to collect, in optimal circumstances, i.e. in calm weather, a maximum of about 3,000 – 5,000 tons of oil a day. However, an accident can occur at any time, i.e. autumn storms and/or a south-west wind would make oil collection much more challenging.

A unique project throughout the whole world

The Tanker Safety-Project is even on a world-wide scale, unique. It is hoped that all of the nine Baltic Sea States will participate in the project. It is also believed that the Russians, who have a significant amount of tanker traffic in the Baltic Sea, are also interested in the project.

It is planned that information about the Tanker Safety-Project will also be submitted to the International Maritime Organization IMO. In addition, the project will be presented in the EU and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen will take up the matter during the next EU Prime-Ministers’ meeting. In the future, the project could also be marketed even to other countries in the UN.

The total cost of the Tanker Safety-Project is estimated to be about 300 000 Euros. The project is being financed both privately as well as by the State.

”We want to see the project move forward. The main thing is to create a system before anything happens”, confirms Juhani Tervala, the Director-General of the Finnish Transport Agency.

Pilot trials are ongoing in the vessels of Neste Oil

Since the autumn of 2009, the ENSI-service has been tested in the vessels of Neste Oil. During 2010, the aim is to continue with the test runs of the software and to improve its features.

”The feedback which has been received from the personnel has been really encouraging”, says Jan Valtonen, Neste Oil’s Safety and Environment Manager.

During the project’s pilot phase, the company’s vessels have been sending their route plans to the VTS-centre’s simulator for route visualization. In addition, Arctia Shipping’s ice-breakers have been sending route points to Neste Oil’s ships.

”When a vessel sends, for example, information about the Denmark Strait, i.e. its route, it will in future receive information about e.g. ice-breakers, explained Admiral Juhani Kaskeala during a news conference.

It is compulsory, in regards to air-traffic, to inform about routes, however in regards to sea-traffic the vessels can not be “ordered” to provide this information. However, as a carrot for providing information about the routes, the vessels will in the future receive from VTS an information package. This package will include for example the movements of ice-breakers.

”Traffic and cross-traffic in the Gulf of Finland is increasing all the time. At the same time, the risk of accidents is also increasing. Therefore the significance of anticipation, preventive planning and communication will increase”, continued Kaskeala.

BACKGROUND
The Gulf of Finland’s vessel traffic services

The VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) monitors the traffic of the coastal sea-lanes and provides vessels with information, organises vessel traffic and if necessary provides navigational help for ships.

GOFREP (Gulf of Finland Reporting) is a compulsory reporting system for vessel traffic in the Gulf of Finland. The system covers the international waters of the Gulf of Finland.

The monitoring and the providing of advice to vessels are carried out in co-operation with the traffic centres of Finland, Estonia and Russia. The movement of the ships is monitored with the help of the AIS (Automatic Identification System). It is by the orders of the IMO compulsory for all vessels over 300 ton gross tonnage to be monitored.

Tuomas Martikainen from the Gulf of Finland’s Vessel Traffic Service presented details of the activities of the ENSI-service during a news conference.

The operations of the ENSI-system

The ships send their route plan via the internet to the ENSI-system before they leave the port.

The vessel traffic service checks the route and sends real-time information about, for example, the weather, ice and traffic, the port of destination and any disturbances. Through this service it is also possible to use and order different support services.

During the voyage, the vessel traffic controllers monitor that the vessel stays on course, intervene in changes which deviate from the plan and inform about any potentially unexpected risk factors.

The intention is to take the ENSI into use in the Gulf of Finland during the year 2013. The two-way exchange of information provided by the system enhances the direction of the vessel traffic by improving the up-to-date information about the situation and by facilitating the prevention of dangerous occurrences. The vessels have the possibility of optimising their timetables, improving their economic situation and reducing air emissions.

Text and pictures: Saana Lamminsivu