Chemicals transportation increasing on the Baltic Sea

The risk of a serious chemical spill in the Baltic Sea is rising as the shipping of chemicals and other maritime traffic intensify, even though the risks of harmful oil spills remain higher. Safety measures involving chemical tankers and their shipping routes have been greatly intensified in recent years, with legislation toughened, and new information systems adopted to monitor shipping more effec-tively. There is still plenty of scope for improving preparedness to deal with chemical spills in the ecologically sensitive Baltic Sea, however, as is highlighted in a new report on the transportation of chemicals on the Baltic Sea released by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

The report compiles statistics on the transportation of liquid bulk chemicals throughout the Baltic Sea during 2004, using databases, public registers, and information from port authorities.

There is not yet enough up-to-date and easily accessible information about chemical transportation in the Baltic. More information is particularly needed on the types and amounts of chemicals pass-ing through ports and shipping lanes around the Baltic, as well as details of their characteristics, and suitable handling procedures. There are considerable differences between the Baltic ports concerning their ability to provide such information rapidly. If an accident occurs, the absence of readily available information could delay a suitable response, with fateful consequences. One problem in this context is that the details of chemical cargoes are often considered to be confidential, and therefore not entered in public registers. Different countries also apply differing definitions with regard to chemicals and the associated risks.

The new report stresses that uniform risk assessment and analytical procedures for risk manage-ment should be applied throughout the Baltic Sea for all shipments of chemicals, to boost local capabilities to improve safety procedures, and thereby reduce the risk of accidents.

Maritime safety has been generally improved in recent years through the adoption of information and telematic systems that have enhanced the monitoring of ships’ movements. Useful systems include national and international vessel traffic services (VTS) systems, such as the compulsory Gulf of Finland Reporting System (GOFREP) applied by Finland, Russia and Estonia, and the automatic identification system (AIS) and Electronic Chart & Display Information System (ECDIS) also used for vessels in the Baltic. However, such systems cannot yet provide enough information about the cargoes on board vessels, which would be crucial in any emergency. The report pro-poses that these telematic systems could be beneficially improved in this respect.

More information is also needed on the environmental impacts of chemicals, and the rates of de-composition of different substances under different conditions. Such information is today mostly based on laboratory analyses, however, so more accurate modeling data is needed to predict how chemicals will behave or disperse in rough seas or icy conditions, for instance.

The report "Transportation of liquid bulk chemicals by tankers in the Baltic Sea" has been compiled by Jorma Rytkönen and Saara Hänninen of VTT, and funded by the Ministry of the Environment, the Finnish Environment Institute and the Finnish Maritime Administration. The report builds on an earlier survey of oil transportation in the Gulf of Finland, which was compiled in 2004. The last major survey of chemical transportation in the whole of the Baltic Sea was carried out by the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) in 1990.

For more information: Jorma Rytkönen, Customer Director, VTT, Tel. +358 20 722 6569 Saara Hänninen, Researcher, VTT, p. 020 722 6866 Olli Pahkala, Environmental Counsellor, Ministry of the Environment, Tel. +358 9 1603 9737, GSM +358 50 5250 891 Kalervo Jolma, Senior Engineer, Finnish Environment Institute, Tel. +358 9 40300 468, GSM +358 400 444686 Jyrki Vähätalo, Senior Maritime Inspector, Finnish Maritime Administration, Tel. +358 20 448 4317