Part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund)
Sub-regional risk of spill of oil and hazardous substances in the Baltic Sea (BRISK)
The Baltic Sea today is one of the busiest seas in the world, accounting for more than 15% of the world’s cargo transportation. Both the numbers and the sizes of ships have grown in recent years, especially oil tankers, and this trend is expected to continue.
The Baltic’s narrow straits and shallow waters, many of which are covered by ice for prolonged periods in winter, make navigation very challenging, and increase the risk of shipping accidents.
The Baltic Sea coastal countries already have substantial resources to effectively respond to pollution at sea in the region, and operational procedures for joint, international response operations have been put in place within the framework of the Helsinki Commission. Yet, the need for further, deepened cooperation has been recognized by all Baltic Sea countries.
In order to address the increasing risk of accidental pollution from shipping connected to increasing maritime transportation in the Baltic, a strategic project “Sub-regional risk of spill of oil and hazardous substances in the Baltic Sea (BRISK)" has been launched by the Baltic Sea countries under the HELCOM umbrella.
The overall objective of BRISK is to substantially contribute to the development of an appropriate level of preparedness in the whole Baltic Sea area to tackle major accidental spills.
The project is to implement the provisions of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, adopted by all Baltic Sea countries and the European Commission in 2007, concerning step-wise actions to fulfil the requirements of HELCOM Recommendation 28E/12 on strengthening of sub-regional co-operation in response field.
BRISK will last three years and is co-financed by the European Union within the Baltic Sea Region Programme (BSRP) 2007-2013. Its total budget amounts to around EUR 3.3 million, with approximately EUR 2.5 million to be allocated from the European Regional Development Fund. BRISK has been chosen as one of the strategic projects within the BSRP due to its importance for the sustainable development of the Baltic Sea Region.
The project area covers all transnational maritime areas in the Baltic, divided into 6 sub-regions. All Baltic Sea countries participate in BRISK. Danish Admiral Fleet leads the project.
BRISK activities
HELCOM applies a three tier approach to response to pollution at sea, where minor spills are addressed by one country, medium-size spills require assistance from several neighboring countries, and the largest spills are addressed by all coastal states and if necessary with use of external assistance. BRISK will focus on tier II accidents corresponding to sub-regional level of co-operation.
First of all, based on a common methodology a comprehensive Baltic-wide analysis will be done within BRISK to check whether the existing emergency and response capacities in each sub-region of the Baltic are sufficient to tackle medium-size and large spills. No such an overall risk assessment for the Baltic has been done so far.
Based on the risk assessment, the Project will identify missing resources and will help prepare pre-investment plans on how the Baltic Sea countries should jointly fill in the identified gaps.
The sub-regional approach when building the response capacities applied in BRISK is the most cost-efficient as countries can “share” their resources to build a common pool of response vessels and equipment sufficient for a given sub-region.
Moreover, the Project will facilitte and speed up the process of developing and concluding sub-regional agreements between neighbouring countries for joint response operartions.
Through these activities the Project will substantially and in a concrete way contribute to the development of an appropriate level of preparedness in the whole Baltic Sea area.
BRISK Project Partners
Institutions and organizations from all the Baltic Sea countries participate in BRISK:
Admiral Danish Fleet HQ – lead partner
Swedish Coast Guard HQ
Finnish Environment Institute
Estonian Board of Border Guard
State Environmental Service, Marine and Inland Waters Administration in Latvia
Central Command for Maritime Emergencies in Germany
Lithuanian Maritime Safety Administration/The Lithuanian Navy
Maritime Institute in Poland
Gdynia Maritime Office in Poland
HELCOM
Russian partners from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad
Project web site
Launch of BRISK at Kick-off Meeting, 13-14 January 2009, Copenhagen, hosted by the Lead Partner of the Project, the Admiral Danish Fleet.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Peter Soeberg Poulsen, Project Manager
Admiral Danish Fleet HQ
National Operations
Maritime Environment
Tel: +45 8943 3405
Fax: +45 8943 3427
E-mail: pol.con.den@sok.dk
Ms. Monika Stankiewicz
Professional Secretary
HELCOM
Tel: +358 (0)40 840 2471
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645
E-mail: monika.stankiewicz@helcom.fi
Ms. Ulla Ahonen
Project Officer
HELCOM Secretary
E-mail: ulla.ahonen@helcom.fi
Tel: +358 (0)400 315 790
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645