HELCOM fleet to drill response to an oil platform accident off Kaliningrad

Helsinki, 7 August (HELCOM Information Service) – The Helsinki Commission will conduct its annual international exercise BALEX DELTA 2008 on 27 August outside Kaliningrad, Russia, to test the Baltic Sea countries’ readiness to respond to a major oil accident at sea.

This operational exercise, the largest maritime emergency and counter-pollution drill of its kind in the Baltic Sea area and one of the largest worldwide, will involve the release of simulated oil from an offshore platform in Russian waters, the deployment of pollution response vessels from the coastal countries, the establishment of a unified command structure and communication system, and a full-scale oil recovery operation at the site of the accident, including actual deployment of oil containment booms and skimming equipment.

Up to 20 oil-pollution-combating ships and other vessels from seven HELCOM Member States - Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden supported by helicopters will take part in the exercise. Also, the European Union (which is one of the HELCOM Contracting Parties) will be represented by one response vessel chartered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

The aim of the exercise is to test HELCOM’s response system, its command and communication system, as well as the co-operation between response units of the Baltic Sea countries. “The value of our field exercise is immeasurable in maintaining the coastal countries’ preparedness to deal with a massive oil spill at sea,” says Thomas Fagö, Chairman of the HELCOM Response Group. “Its purpose is to continually improve HELCOM’s fleet skills to provide a fast and effective response to a disaster when it occurs. The exercise is designed to practice and evaluate the fleet’s ability to jointly respond to an oil accident, and also gives the host country an excellent opportunity to test its own capacity to command and control an international operation.”

This year's HELCOM annual exercise is organized by Russia’s Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport and the State Marine Pollution Control, Salvage & Rescue Administration. The exercise involves a scenario where a well on a Russian oil platform off the coast of Kaliningrad Oblast’ blows out after a gas leak. As a result of the accident the platform catches fire and spews 1,200 tonnes of crude oil into the sea, which is drifting towards the Russian coastline. Following the firefighting operation and the evacuation of workers from the platform by a rescue helicopter, units from the HELCOM countries are tasked to jointly prevent the oil slick from coming ashore.

BALEX DELTA operational response exercises have been held annually since 1989. Throughout this time HELCOM has steadily improved the readiness of the countries around the Baltic to jointly respond to oil spills at sea. The Baltic Sea countries now have a total of more than 30 response vessels that are located around the region. These vessels are able to reach any place in the Baltic Sea within 6 to 48 hours of notification of an accident.

The issue of response to accidents at sea has a high priority within the Baltic Sea region. The Baltic Sea’s unusual hydrographic, chemical and physical conditions make its waters extremely sensitive to pollution. Any large-scale oil spill could lead to an environmental catastrophe. The risk of such a spill occurring has increased substantially over the last decade, due to the rising number of cargo ships carrying large amounts of fuel, and the constantly increasing volumes of oil transported on the Baltic. By 2015, a 40% increase is expected in the amounts of oil being shipped on the Baltic, which in 2007 reached more than 170 million tonnes. The use of much bigger tankers is also expected to rise – there will be more tankers in the Baltic carrying 100,000-150,000 tonnes of oil.

The Baltic Sea today is one of the busiest seas in the world, accounting for more than 15% of the world’s cargo transportation. According to the HELCOM Automatic Identification System (AIS) for monitoring maritime traffic, there are about 2,000 ships in the Baltic marine area at any given moment, and each month around 3,500-5,000 ships ply the waters of the Baltic Sea. Approximately 60% of these ships are cargo vessels, and 17% are tankers, and 11% are passenger vessels. There are around 140 shipping accidents and over 200 detected illegal oil discharges recorded annually in the Baltic Sea area. Fortunately, most of the accidents in the Baltic do not cause notable pollution. Over the period 2000-2006, an average of 7% of all reported accidents resulted in some kind of pollution. Two of the five most serious accidents in the Baltic marine area have occurred since 2001 – involving “Baltic Carrier” in 2001 (2,700 tonnes of oil spilt), and “Fu Shan Hai” in 2003 (1,200 tonnes of oil spilt).

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region. 

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Monika Stankiewicz

HELCOM Professional Secretary

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 643

E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

HELCOM Information Secretary

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi