Measures in the field of safety of navigation are needed to reduce accident risks. There is a need to improve the exchange of information between ships and between ships and shore for increased situational awareness and as a catalyst for improved safety of navigation, optimized capacity utilization and just-in-time operations.
Increased safety in the Baltic Sea
Safety of Navigation in the Baltic Sea by Sea Traffic Management, in short STM BALT SAFE (2019-2021) will contribute to increased safety of navigation in the Baltic Sea by providing Sea Traffic Management (STM)-enabled maritime services to tanker traffic in the Baltic. The project will address the recently amended HELCOM recommendations 34 E/2 “Further testing and development of the concept of exchange of voyage plans as well as other e-navigation solutions to enhance the safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment in the Baltic Sea region”.
Tanker ships will be made safer by making them STM compatible, hence providing the ability to send and receive voyage plans with other ships and with public authorities in Baltic Sea countries. Through the STM BALT SAFE project, the institutional capacity of the public sector on supporting and developing the safety of navigation services and efficiency of sustainable transport will be enhanced.
Enhanced monitoring and automated reporting
The project will build on the methods, results and the maritime service infrastructure developed in previous projects and will encompass the exchange of voyage plans and integration of STM functionalities in VTS shore centers. Services for enhanced monitoring of maritime traffic, different automatic reporting services to Ship Reporting Systems e.g. GOFREP and SOUNDREP, as well as automated reporting to Maritime Single Windows, will be developed and tested in the project. Different services that optimize the ship´s voyage and decrease the administrative burden will also be developed and tested within the STM BALT SAFE.
New STM clause enables just-in-time shipping for charter parties
The standard clauses for shipping are currently being developed to be efficient when using Sea Traffic Management to optimize the sea traffic. These new clauses for Charter Party contracts to enable just-in-time shipping will also be tested and validated in practice within the STM BALT SAFE.
About STM BALT SAFE
- Private, public and academic sector involved
- 4,376,658.65 euros budget
- Co-financed by the European Union Interreg Baltic Sea Programme and Norway
- January 2019 – June 2021
- Lead partner: Swedish Maritime Administration
- Partners: DNV, VTS Finland, Estonian Maritime Administration, Norwegian Coastal Administration, Research Institutes of Sweden – RISE
- Associated partnership from: Denmark, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, International Organizations
Project benefits
Supporting ship safety:- Gaining insight into the intentions of other ships
- Predicting future traffic developments and potential risk situations
- saving fuel through more efficient sailing in congested waters
- Superior overview of traffic flows
- Prediction of future risk situations
- Maritime situational awareness (cross-checking routes, identifying deviations from routes, sharing awareness of future risk situations, particularly with non-STM ships)
- Reduced workload for officers onboard
- Minimizing the number of errors in reporting
- Decreased costs for missed reports
- Earlier heads-up to reporting authorities along the route
DNV's contribution to the Project is aimed at establishing an approach for verification of STM capabilities onshore and onboard the ships, as well as to develop methods, procedures and tools to support such verification.
For more information head to www.stmbaltsafe.eu
