Meeting 4 Summary Report 23.11.2010

Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWorking Group on Integrated Maritime PolicyTo: 15th December 2010Representatives of Parliaments,Parliamentary Assemblies,Institutions and Working Group Membersof the Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAbstract of the 4th Session of the Working Group “Integrated Maritime Policy, especiallyinfrastructure and logistics” in Tallinn on 23rd November 2010The 4th Meeting of the Working Group “Integrated Maritime Policy, especially infrastructure andlogistics” was held in Tallinn under the chairmanship of Mr Jochen Schulte (State ParliamentMecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany) in the premises of the Riigikogu on23rd November 2010. 26 representatives from 15 parliaments and parliamentary assemblies aswell as 5 experts attended the meeting.In the first segment of the session representatives from Lloyd’s Register in Hamburg, theHamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt (HSVA), the Danish Maritime Authority, the EstonianMaritime Administration (Vessel Traffic Services Centre) and from the Finnish Transport Agency(on behalf of HELCOM) informed the participants about options for the reduction of emissionsfrom maritime shipping (low-emission propulsion systems and ship operation technologies,treatment of exhaust gases, ship building and refitting with regard to the current state ofresearch and perspectives in the ship-building sector as well as setting up an LNG infrastructurein the Baltic Sea region), maritime shipping in ice conditions and maritime vessel and trafficmonitoring.Ms Ramona Zettelmaier (Lloyd’s Register, Hamburg) outlined the legal framework on theinternational level and the timeline for the reduction of SOx-, NOx- and CO -emissions. She2reported that on the basis of Annex VI of the MARPOL convention the NOx Emission ControlAreas (NECAs) were obliged to reduce emissions considerably from 2016 in order to complywith the applicable emission standard fixed in TIER III. As a consequence a fundamentalchange to the marine propulsion and operation technologies in the NECAs was required. From2015 this was also applicable to the SOx-Emission Control Areas (SECAs) since also thegradual reduction of the sulphur content in marine fuels to 0.1 % had an enormous impact onthe ship operation technology. Subsequently she illustrated the change of the fuels used duringthe past 30 years which was primarily due to the tightening of environmental regulations. Todaymainly middle distillates were used and had been reference fuels for the MARPOL convention1since 2008. Taking account of the respective fuel regulations of the different sea areas, thevessels were equipped with different fuel tanks. This made them less cost-effective. A solutionmight be on the one hand combining the use of middle distillates and the application of exhaustgas treatment (scrubbing) in order to reduce SOx-emissions and on the other hand modernisingthe propulsion technology so as to reduce NOx-emissions (new injection technologies,application of water-fuel emulsions). According to her new vessels could be run with LNG andcould keep all emission standards without any problems; but there was still a huge number ofvessels with “antiquated technology“. In addition, the use of LNG required special safetyengineering. Ship operation had to be both profitable and environmentally compatible.Technology had to be functional, reliable, durable and easy to handle. Against this backgroundshe claimed that firstly there should be one consistent and proportionate Port State Controlworldwide and that the ports should have sufficient reception facilities in order to preventdistortion of competition; secondly she claimed a certification of bunker suppliers; thirdly thereshould be standardised criteria for exhaust gas treatment; fourthly and finally Ms Zettelmaierclaimed that research in the use of alternative fuels had to be intensified.Mr Jürgen Friesch (Hamburgische Schiffsbau-Versuchsanstalt GmbH, HSVA) illustrated thepossibilities of hydrodynamic optimisation of ships and ship propulsion systems with the aim ofreducing emissions. He pointed out that more than 95 % of the goods traded worldwide weretransported by ship, primarily slow-going container ships and tankers. According to him theirefficiency could be considerably improved by modifying the hull form (especially the length-widthratio), the machines and propulsion technologies as well. But this could only succeed if nostandard ships designed on the drawing board were used; instead, ships had to be designed fortheir main intended use. A modified length-width ratio while retaining the same tonnage andspeed could save 25 % of the energy. Already a reduction of speed of 10 % could reduceenergy consumption by 40 %. Yet there were limits depending on the ship-specific operatingrange and speed range which themselves were related to the width, length, hull form, anddraught of the ship as well as to the propeller type and the engine speed. He added that alsothe surface of the underwater hull played an important role. Water resistance could be reducedby up to 30 % by smoothing welding seams and using improved smoothed paints. Further waysof reducing water resistance were the use of new technologies like air injection at the bottom ofthe hull, a balanced and precise ballast distribution, the optimisation of the propeller design andthe use of additional jets and fins. Further on he briefly referred to alternative propulsiontechnologies like fuel cells, nuclear power and the use of solar and wind energy, some of themto be used as add-ons (e.g. wind power). Closing his presentation, he claimed that in futurepolitical focus should particularly be put on technologies designed to reduce emissions, takinginto account hydrodynamic aspects of ship design.Mr Mogens Schrøder Bech (Danish Maritime Authority) presented the current status of theLiquid Natural Gas (LNG)-infrastructure in the North Sea, the English Channel and in the BalticSea region and outlined new perspectives for the use of LNG in maritime transport, based on astrategic discussion paper. In general, the use of LNG required the establishment of specifictechnical prerequisites. In addition, safety aspects both on the ships and in the ports had to beconsidered. Nevertheless he described LNG as a competitive marine fuel – particularly in viewof the Emission Control Areas (ECAs) – which currently was available on the global market at2lower price than distillates. Further he pointed out that if potential LNG suppliers were expectedto invest in port infrastructure, political intervention by the states and economic incentives wererequired. Only then consumers were ready to use this environmentally friendly fuel whichcaused neither SOx nor particulate emissions and very low NOx emission. Further a network ofLNG-filling stations as well as industrial standards (and public regulations if necessary) wasrequired as supporting framework conditions. He recommended carrying out a feasibility studyfor the Baltic region, to serve as a basis of decision-making both for politics and industry. Inorder to promote the use and acceptance of LNG, he continued, it was vital to use the latesttechnologies (new engines or retrofitting), to increase the number of filling stations (bothstationary and mobile) and integrate them into the supply network, starting with the existingregular service. At present Norway was the only country in northern Europe disposing of anadequate LNG-supply structure. The only LNG-terminal currently being planned in the Balticregion was Szczecin. Norway and Denmark were partners in a pilot project which investigateduntil the end of 2012 the feasibility of the use of LNG in the Baltic region. He concluded thatECA provisions set the competitiveness of Short Sea Shipping under pressure. Action had to betaken to avoid a modal back shift from water to road transport. New technologies of GreenShipping had to be introduced.Mr Are Piel (Vessel Traffic Services Centre, Estonian Maritime Administration) illustrated“Examples for a harmonised and overall supervision of sea transport in the Baltic Sea region“,using the Gulf of Finland as an example. He started his presentation by outlining the hydro-graphical and morphological characteristics of this sea area which had a high traffic density dueto tankers going from and to Russia, ferry and cruise traffic. In addition the North Stream gaspipeline was being built, and more than 100 days per year maritime traffic had to cope with ice.He continued, the risk potential for the region was ever increasing due to increasing oil andfreight transports on ever growing vessels. Based on the HELCOM Copenhagen Declaration of2001, Russia, Finland and Estonia had agreed to create a common and binding traffic manage-ment and monitoring system with the aim of enhancing safety. VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) wasmainly radar-based and offered traffic guidance services; GOFREP (Gulf of Finland ReportingSystem) was AIS-based and managed the standardised cross-border surveillance of maritimetraffic. But the system could not be applied for international waters to the desired extend, headded, since to date competencies were not clarified and transmission processes were notconsistent. Information referring to the name, position, speed and course of the ship were givenas so-called short reports or full reports, respectively, to the respective coastal station.Sometimes reporting was very labour- and time-intensive for the shipmasters; e.g. on a trip fromthe Mediterranean to the Gulf of Finland a vessel had to give eleven reports to the coastalstations altogether. Against this background the Safe Sea Net was applied, a network whichinterlinked databases of different systems and nations provided users with the requested data.In addition a Single Window facility was used which provided national regulatory documents forcustoms, Port State Control, weather services etc. at one single location. He continued that fromthe side of the European Commission a common communication platform entitled “MARSUNO– Maritime Surveillance North” was planned, aiming at the reduction of administrative effort ofcross-border maritime traffic, providing traffic information and appropriate instruments forpollution control and identifying rescue efforts and fisheries control.3Mr Ilmari Aro (Finnish Transport Agency - FTA, on behalf of HELCOM) informed theparticipants about the special conditions and requirements of maritime shipping in the Balticregion in ice conditions. He explained that during an average winter FTA-icebreakers had tokeep approx. 800 km of iced sea routes navigable for maritime traffic (pre-defined routes alongthe coastline). It was the goal to achieve a maximum waiting time of four hours for the vesselsand enable them to cruise at a speed of 10 knots. In winter 2009/2010 almost 8,000 vessels inthe Baltic had received assistance by the FTA, nearly 3,000 of them in the Gulf of Finland, hecontinued. Due to the limited amount of icebreakers the vessels had to manage up to 60 % oftheir ice trip alone. For this reason special requirements had to be fulfilled both regarding thevessels and the crew. According to him the main problems in ice conditions were sea sprayicing, insufficient vessels and inadequate trained shipmasters. Finland had a fleet of nineicebreakers which was in a good state although some of them were more than 30 years old.Further he explained that for maritime shipping in ice conditions there were certain restrictions,classified according to the ice thickness (there were four classes: 10-15, 15-30, 30-50, andmore than 50 cm). Only those vessels received assistance by icebreakers which correspondedto certain ice classes and dead weights. These restrictions were aimed to keep out unsuitablevessels in winter. Thus safety of navigation and continuity of winter traffic should be guaranteed.The Baltic Icebreaker Meeting (BIM), he continued, was a common information platform for theBaltic region which was running by all countries bordering the Baltic Sea (except Lithuania). Italso had an interface with the HELCOM database. This year Finland and Sweden hadconcluded a separate co-operation agreement for the Gulf of Bothnia and the Åland Sea area.Last winter Finland had spent 38.5 million euros on icebreaking, 10 million out of that for fuel.The presentations are available on the following BSPC website:http://www.bspc.net/page/show/217 (Folder: Related Information; sub: Background Documents).In the second segment of the session Mr Roger Jansson (Ålands Lagting) was appointed vice-chairman of the working group, succeeding Ms Grönfeldt Bergman who retired from theSwedish parliament in September 2010.Regarding remaining topics and open tasks the chairman explained the fields of activity whichshould be worked on in more detail by the working group. He reflected the decisions of the19th BSPC in Mariehamn and proposals of Members of Parliament. The participants decided notto follow the Mariehamn proposal of Anita Brodén to discuss the matter of insufficientwastewater treatment in the Baltic Sea region because this had been a genuine HELCOM taskfor years, mainly in the framework and implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. Themembers asked Mr Widberg to invite – in agreement with the chair of the BSPC StandingCommittee, Ms Gestrin – the Executive Secretary of HELCOM, Ms Anne Christine Brusendorff,as an expert for the next session of the Enlarged Standing Committee on 2nd February 2011 inBrussels to discuss this matter.As an outcome of the discussions the participants agreed on the continuation of the workingplan for the next year until the 20th BSPC. The 5th session will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, on24th March, focusing on ways for improving competitiveness in the maritime sector and onmaritime spatial planning. The 6th and final session will take place in Schwerin, Germany, from419th to 21st June 2011 with the main focus on the infrastructure of ports, including technicalchallenges of cruise tourism, the discussion of political recommendations and the report of theworking group for the 20th BSPC in Helsinki in 2011.In this context the participants decided to elaborate first recommendations for discussion by the5th session in Stockholm in order to submit key points for the Enlarged Standing Committee’sconsultations in May 2011. Last recommendations should be added to the draft resolutionsubsequent to the final session by end of June 2011.The meeting gave the chairman and the vice-chairman the mandate as political representativesof the BSPC-Working Group on Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Maritime Day on20th May 2011 in Gdansk. The European Commission would like to present a tripartite event ofmaritime actors from the CBSS, BSSSC and the BSPC which will be prepared by Germany.Further the working group agreed not to generally formulate recommendations for the resolutionas brief and precise political demands; in some cases it might be useful to include also technicaldetails in order to keep the resolution understandable.Finally the participants decided to create a directory of all working group members based on astandard form which will be distributed to the parliamentary secretariats by e-mail.Jochen SchulteChairmanContact:Landtag Mecklenburg-VorpommernReferat Internationalen Angelegenheiten/OstseekooperationGerald GutzeitLennéstraße 119053 SchwerinGERMANYphone: +49 385 525.2760telefax: +49 385 525.2759mailto:intaff@landtag-mv.dewww.landtag-mv.de5