11 September 2024

Collaborating for Enhanced Resilience: Maritime Example

Written by Elena kolosova

Discover how Interreg Baltic Sea Region projects are revolutionising maritime safety. Such innovative approaches are essential for ensuring safe navigation in the Baltic Sea. With these efforts, we also support the aspirations of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) in making the Baltic Sea region a model for sustainable shipping. See you in Visby at the EUSBSR Forum!

Safe Navigation is a Must!

Interreg Baltic Sea Region projects are enhancing sea navigation safety by developing next-generation navigational products and services that comply with new international standards. Project partners are advancing safe shipping by digitalising navigational charts in the Baltic Sea e-Nav project, establishing a new height reference system in the BalMarGrav project, developing alternative positioning services in the ORMOBASS project, and creating new risk assessment and management tools in the OpenRisk II project.

Project Highlight: The Baltic Sea e-Nav
The Baltic Sea e-Nav project is shifting the paradigm of ship navigation by fully digitalising navigational charts. Imagine upgrading from an early 2000s car navigator to the sophisticated, user-friendly Google Maps—this is what moving from today’s standards to the new S-100 standards means for sea navigation. With these advancements, navigators can plan more energy-efficient routes, avoid safety risks, and consider environmentally sensitive areas. The project partners started this exciting three-year journey in November 2023, implementing S-100 standards ratified by the International Maritime Organization into navigation products and services. Expect a lot of prototyping, testing, and piloting as the project moves towards harmonized navigation products that ships

can use almost seamlessly across international waters – a common necessity in the Baltic Sea.

What are those magic S-100 standards and products that Baltic Sea e-nav work with?

  • S-101: Next-generation electronic navigational charts covering major shipping routes in the Baltic Sea.
  • S-102: Detailed seafloor information for key shipping routes, fairways, and harbor approaches.
  • S-104: Real-time and predicted water level information service.
  • S-111: Real-time and predicted surface currents information service.
    Important for the EUSBSR

    The solutions developed by these projects advance the EUSBSR policy areas Ship and Safe in their mission to make the Baltic Sea region a model region for sustainable shipping. Together, project partners and the coordinators of the EUSBSR policy areas ensure that our region can function as a test-bed for new and innovative products, services, methods, and practices addressing global challenges.

     

    The Coordinator of the EUSBSR Policy Area Safe, Ulf Siwe, Swedish Maritime Administration, stated:

    Projects are the main tool to realise the objectives of the EUSBSR Action Plan. For example, Baltic Sea e-Nav helps PA Safe to obtain the actions ‘Providing reliable navigational conditions to the Baltic Sea’ and ‘To be a forerunner in digitalisation and automation’ as well as PA Ship’s ‘Support measures including digitalisation in reducing emissions from shipping’.

    The project results are essential to drive policy changes. The Baltic Sea e-Nav project helps EU Member States implement the Under Keel Clearance policies among the first in the world, which will mean that ships can load more goods and increase safety margins at the same time.

    The Coordinators of the Policy Areas Safe and Ship assist project partners with the definition of a change strategy and further implementation of the developed solutions after the projects conclude. We also disseminate the project results and use them to stimulate new project ideas taking concepts even further.

    Explore other projects enhancing maritime safety:
    • The MaDaMe project develops digital fairway services and cyber secure communication for maritime authorities to efficiently share navigational information and increase safety at sea.
    • To ensure safer navigation at the Baltic Sea, the project ORMOBASS introduces a terrestrial R-Mode system that replaces global navigation satellite systems in case of disruptions, and warns ships about increased navigational risks.
    • The project OpenRisk II equips maritime authorities and intergovernmental organisations with the risk assessment and risk management tools and thus helps to minimise maritime accidents and their footprint on the marine environment.
    • The project BalMarGrav harmonises data on the Earth’s gravity across the region to feed it into a new height reference system for safer navigation, offshore infrastructure and sea traffic management.
    Meet the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme and the EUSBSR Policy Area Innovation Coordinators in Visby on 30 October 2024 at the Annual Forum of the EUSBSR:
    Register NOW!

    Meet us and other EUSBSR stakeholders in the Networking village  during both days of the EUSBSR Forum, on 30-31 October 2024. Registration to the EUSBSR Forum is open at https://eusbsr.eu/annual-forum/registration-inquiries/.

    BalMarGrav

    Homogenized marine gravity maps of southern and eastern Baltic Sea for modern 3D applications in marine geodesy, geology and navigation
    The project BalMarGrav harmonises data on the Earth’s gravity across the region to feed it into a new height reference system for safer navigation, offshore infrastructure and sea traffic management.
    Read more about the project

    OpenRisk II

    Tools for shared & dynamic maritime traffic risk picture of the Baltic Sea region
    The project OpenRisk II equips maritime authorities and intergovernmental organisations with the risk assessment and risk management tools and thus helps to minimise maritime accidents and their footprint on the marine environment.
    Read more about the project

    ORMOBASS

    Operational R-Mode Baltic Sea System to support resilient navigation
    To ensure safer navigation at the Baltic Sea, the project ORMOBASS introduces a terrestrial R-Mode system that replaces global navigation satellite systems in case of disruptions, and warns ships about increased navigational risks.
    Read more about the project

    Baltic Sea e-Nav

    Shared waters – Same standards. Baltic Sea Partnership for Future Navigation
    The project Baltic Sea e-Nav creates the next generation of navigational products and services compliant with new international standards, enabling national authorities and other maritime organisations to ensure safer, more harmonised and eco-efficient navigation at the Baltic Sea.
    Read more about the project

    MaDaMe

    Maritime Data Methods for Safe Shipping
    The MaDaMe project develops digital fairway services and cyber secure communication for maritime authorities to efficiently share navigational information and increase safety at sea.
    Read more about the project

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