Seven illegal oil discharges detected during HELCOM’s aerial surveillance flights over the north-eastern Baltic

Helsinki, 17 September  (HELCOM Information Service) - Seven illegal discharges of oil were detected during the Helsinki Commission’s international CEPCO North 2008 aerial surveillance flights, which were conducted on 16-17 September over the north-eastern parts of the Baltic Sea.

Four aircraft from Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Poland have for up to 24 hours continuously surveyed the agreed route for oil pollution in the Gulf of Finland and the north-eastern Baltic Proper. The operation remained classified until the last plane landed at 14.00 LT on Wednesday in order to prevent possible offenders from discovering the surveillance activities.

This year, the operation was organised by the Estonian Border Guard Aviation Group. The base airport for the CEPCO North flights was in Tallinn. Remote sensing equipment, such as side looking radars (SLAR), infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) cameras, were used during the operation. Also, the European Maritime Safety Agency’s CleanSeaNet service provided satellite images of the flight area.

The detected spills have been recognized to contain only minor amounts of mineral oil, with the largest of about 5.0 cubic meters. The total amount of oil in all detected slicks has been estimated at 10.1 cubic meters. Due to heavy ship traffic in the area no suspects have been identified so far.

“The overall aims and objectives of CEPCO North 2008 flights were achieved, and the results of this operation, as well as the latest national aerial surveillance data indicate that the number of pollution sightings by patrol planes has been decreasing in the past several years,” said Monika Stankiewicz, Professional Secretary for maritime and response issues at HELCOM. “Pollution surveillance has a significant preventive effect on the number of illegal oil discharges at sea. It considerably promotes compliance with regulations for the protection of the marine environment.”

Earlier this year, HELCOM also carried out aerial surveillance flights in the southern Baltic Sea from a base in Lübeck, Germany. CEPCO South involved four aircraft from Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden which surveyed the area of Kadet Strait and around the island of Bornholm with high vessel traffic intensity on 17-19 June 2008. Also, two German response vessels and seven patrol vessels from Denmark, Germany, Poland and Sweden supported the operation in case any investigation would have to be made onboard of ships detected illegally discharging oil. During SEPCO South, 11 small discharges of mineral oil were observed by aircraft with a total amount of 5.14 cubic meters, as well as some unconfirmed slicks were detected during one satellite overpass. One possible suspect of illegal pollution was identified by the German authorities.    

Two CEPCO (Coordinated Extended Pollution Control Operation) flights are arranged annually by HELCOM in the Baltic Sea: one in the south and one in the north. During CEPCO flights several HELCOM countries jointly carry out continuous aerial surveillance activities for 24 hours or more along the predetermined routes in areas where operational spills are likely. CEPCO flights also support national aerial surveillance data by detecting illegal discharges which would not be disclosed by routine national surveillance activities. This enables a realistic estimation of the total number of oil spills discharged into the Baltic Sea during one randomly selected day.

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

Professional Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 643

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi