Marine accidents as potential crisis situations on the Baltic sea

Abstract

People responsible for crisis management, especially in coastal voivodships (Pomeranian, West Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship) must be aware and prepared to take effective action in the event of emergencies in maritime waters. The geographical, hydro meteorological conditions and geographical conditions of the Baltic Sea of the Baltic Sea and the increasing intensity of Baltic shipping, and in particular the increase in oil transport, mean that the likelihood of maritime accidents that can generate crises in sea areas increases significantly. There are about 2000 ships in the Baltic marine area at any given moment and about 3500 - 5500 ships navigate through the Baltic Sea per month. Approximately 20% of the ships in the Baltic Sea are tankers. Despite different uncertainties some trends in the Baltic shipping can be expected. For example ship traffic is likely to increase yearly and it is expected that vessel size will increase because the maritime transport must be more efficient and cost-saving. Such trends create serious threats for Baltic States. The maritime administrations of the Baltic States and international maritime organizations undertake a number of actions to increase maritime safety in the Baltic Sea. The publication characterizes Baltic shipping and analyzes the scale of threats generated by maritime accidents, as well as ways of responding and minimizing the probability of emergencies in the Baltic Sea. Activities including: legislative and organizational activity were also characterized; practical use of modern technology both on vessels and in land navigation monitoring systems; marine traffic engineering and shipbuilding, which aim is to minimize the likelihood of maritime accidents in the Baltic Sea and analyses of Baltic states capacity to oil spill response. In addition, the publication proposes a definition of a crisis situation in relation to sea areas and presents when a maritime accident or incident can generate a crisis situation in sea areas. The result of the research process is proposals for actions that, in the author's opinion, should be taken to reduce the number of maritime accidents in the Baltic Sea.