Maritime safety across borders

The initiative to the first Baltic Master project emerged from two international conferences on maritime safety held in 2004 in Kiel, Germany, and Trelleborg, Sweden.

The main objectives of Baltic Master were:

• To increase the influence of the regional governments and the local authorities on matters of maritime safety. The project defines their ability to participate more effectively.
• To develop transport and communications within a framework of maritime safety, taking into account the diversity of activities in the Baltic Sea.
• To increase preparedness for preventing and managing a catastrophe, through integrating local and regional zones in the planning and implementation processes. Baltic Master aimed to improve maritime safety by integrating and bringing forward local and regional perspectives. This included measures to improve the prevention and the preparedness for ship accidents.

Maritime safety in a wider perspective, including regional development and spatial planning, was also investigated further. The project consisted of the following four work packages:

• Preparedness and Division of Responsibility
• Safe Transportation at Sea • Sustainable Spatial and Regional Development
• Communication and Dissemination

The main outputs of the project are:

• Guidelines for local and regional preparedness
• Vision of the PSSA 2020
• Tool for Marine Spatial Planning
• Action Plan for the Baltic Sea Region

Baltic Master resulted in better solutions for local and regional preparedness with concrete examples on how to develop, maintain and exercise a contingency plan based on cooperation and experiences from actual oil accidents in the Baltic Sea. The work on ICZM resulted in new suggestions on how a local/regional authority could use ICZM when planning for a safer and sustainable coastal zone. Finally, the Vision of PSSA has proven to be a political document uniting regional decision makers in the Baltic Sea around the demands for a safer transportation system at sea.

A follow-up project to the Baltic Master I project, Baltic Master II, took place in between 2009 and 2012.The overall aim of Baltic Master II was to improve the on-land response capacity to oil spills in the Baltic Sea as well as to enhance the prevention of pollution from maritime transport.

Project partners

• Region Blekinge – Lead partner (SE)
• Baltic Fishing Fleet State Academy (RO)
• Blekinge County Administrative Board (SE)
• City of Kotka (FI)
• CPMR/BSC (FI)
• Danish Emergency Management Agency Bornholm (DK)
• Elektronikcentrum i Svängsta AB (SE)
• Euroregion Baltic (PL)
• Gdynia Maritime University (PL)
• Gotland County Administration Board (SE)
• Government of Land Schleswig-Holstein, Ministry of Economy, Employment and Transport (DE)
• Halland Regional Development Council (SE)
• HELCOM (FI)
• Helsingborg Municipality (SE)
• Institute of Oceanology of Russian Academy of Sciences (RO)
• Kalmar Maritime Academy (SE)
• Karlskrona City and Port (SE)
• Klaipeda County (LT)
• Maritime Institute Bremen at University of Applied Sciences Bremen (DE)
• Maritime Institute in Gdansk (PO)
• Maritime Office Gdynia (PO)
• Maritime Office in Sczcecin (PO)
• Maritime University of Sczcecin (PO)
• Municipality of Gotland (SE)
• Municipality of Guldborgsund (DK)
• Naval University of Gdynia (PO)
• Office of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivedeship (PO)
• Port of Karlshamn (SE)
• Region Skåne (SE)
• Regional Council of Kalmar County (SE)
• Regional Municipality Bornholm (DK)
• Skåne County Administrative Board (SE)
• Storströms County (DK)
• Swedish Coast Guard (SE)
• Swedish Maritime Administration (SE)
• Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SE)
• Sydsam (SE)
• The Senator for Construction, Environment and Transport of Bremen (DE)
• Trelleborg Municipality (SE)
• University of Lund (DE)
• World Maritime University (SE)