Author: Eeva Nyyssönen

​​​​​​​​​This week the positive progress in management of ships’ sewage in the Baltic Sea region is further boosted by a on Port Reception Facilities (PRF) in Kiel, Germany. HELCOM keeps cleaner practices in sewage treatment a high priority on land, at sea and in ports alike. The topics of the international workshop, organized by BSH, BPO and BMUB*, cover political, technical and legal issues and ways how to address the challenges ahead, finding common solutions such as the identification of best practices and exchange of technical know-how, and promoting cooperation, among others.  ​​​​​A major milestone was reached through HELCOM cooperation​ last April, when IMO agreed that the Baltic Sea special area for sewage discharges from passenger ships will take effect by latest 2021​ (for most voyages). Photo: Shutterstock The Baltic was the first sea in the world to receive status as a special area for and have this status enforced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Set to come into effect in June 2021, passenger ships, including cruise ships, will be limited to discharging sewage into port reception facilities or alternatively at sea only after treatment with very advanced on-board sewage treatment plants able to reduce nutrient input into the sea. Passenger traffic by sea is important to the whole Baltic Sea region but it should not be a burden to the vulnerable marine environment. Sewage created by these vessels contains nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, which aggravate algal blooms and other symptoms of eutrophication, one of the main environmental concerns in the Baltic Sea area. While not the biggest source of nutrients in the Baltic Sea, ship sewage is not insignificant. With over 7.15 million person days spent on cruise ships in the Baltic Sea, and 40 million international ferry passengers per year, proper sewage disposal is important to protect the health of the Baltic Sea. Other initiatives by HELCOM partners will also be sustaining the Baltic Sea special area status for pollution from sewage. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced of its on wastewater discharges in the Baltic Sea, to test the availability and adequacy of PRFs in the regions’ cruise ports and identify challenges and bottlenecks. In addition, Baltic Ports Organization (BPO) in its 2016 in September will focus on ports in pursuit of sustainable solutions, ship owners looking for zero emissions and Baltic environmental regulations. At the same time, HELCOM Cooperation on PRF will meet to discuss e.g. the updates for the 2014 Overview on Baltic Sea PRF. *: International workshop on PRF for the Baltic Sea as special area according to MARPOL Annex IV is organized by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in cooperation with the Port of Kiel and Baltic Ports Organization (BPO) on behalf of the German Federal Environment Ministry (BMUB), on 30 June–1 July 2016. * * *Note for editors is an intergovernmental organization made up of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union. Founded in 1974, its primary aims as a governing body are to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution, as well as to ensure safe maritime navigation. The official name of HELCOM is the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission; it is the governing body of the Helsinki Convention. * * * For more information, please contact:Hermanni Backer Professional Secretary for Maritime, Response and Fish groups HELCOM Tel:  +358 46 8509199 Skype: helcom02 E-mail: hermanni.backer(at)helcom.fi

Challenges ahead from political, technical and legal perspectives and common solutions will be discussed in an international workshop on Port Reception Facilities for ships’ sewage in Kiel, Germany.

​​​​​​Latvia and Lithuania demonstrate joint onshore capacity at Balex Delta 2016. During Balex Delta regional exercise in Klaipeda this week​, Latvian and Lithuanian teams worked side by side on the shore. This international dimension of the onshore exercise is a new aspect in HELCOM context and demonstrate how the regional response cooperation in the Baltic Sea evolves.​Laura Mazmaca from the Latvian State Environmental Service is happy about the cross-country cooperation. “Latvia and Lithuania have always been close neighbours but lately especially our onshore response cooperation has developed. After a joint firefighting operation in the Neringa area in 2012, our firefighting services purchased joint onshore response equipment as a part of an EU project in 2013. In Balex Delta 2016 we can show the benefits of such close cooperation also to the rest of the Baltic Sea region.” Photo: Konrad Wrzecionkowski/WWF Poland​​​​A ten-person team from the Liepaja department of the Latvian state fire and rescue service participated in this year’s exercise in Klaipeda, 100km to the south from their home across the border in Lithuania. The Latvians exercised alongside four teams from Lithuanian coastal fire and rescue services, seaport authority, municipalities and private companies. In total around a hundred staff participated in the on shore exercise. The Baltic Sea coastal countries have worked hard during last years to enhance regional work on response on the shore. The 1992 Helsinki Convention, the legal basis of HELCOM work, was changed in 2013 to more explicitly cover spill response during situations when pollution has reached the shore. In addition to this formal legal step a targeted expert group, HELCOM Shore, has polished common regional best practices for such international on shore response. But how this international onshore dimension should be exercised in the region is still somewhat open.  Sonja Dobo, Chair of the HELCOM regional shore group and coordinator for oil spill preparedness and response at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency explains: “Multilateral onshore exercises in the Baltic Sea region is still a rather new and unexplored field and on a very different level of maturity compared to offshore exercises. Roughly a handful of bi- or multilateral onshore exercises have been conducted since 2011 when we got our first experience from Sweden. At that time, four nations in the central Baltic – Sweden, Estonia, Finland and Russia – participated in both a table top and a field exercise on the shore as part of the EU project ENSACO. More than a hundred organisations from eleven counties took part in total.”​Photo: HELCOMHELCOM has an ongoing process to develop Balex Delta operational exercises to make best use of the equipment and staff gathered. Many lessons have been learnt so far as the countries have practiced together at sea for decades while the onshore exercises on a larger scale are only a couple of years old.    Ms Dobo continues: “One thing we learned since the big exercise in 2011 is to keep it simple and focused. Onshore response is a complex field. There are big differences between countries’ legislation and organisational structures as well as our different cultures and languages.””Setting clear aims and goals for the exercise is necessary as well as giving high priority to the evaluation. Every exercise has given a lot of new important knowledge and we need to share these experiences with each other,” she says.However, while field exercises require a lot of resources, planning and conducting a simple table top exercise may also provide much new knowledge for the regional community and could also be explored as a regular element. BackgroundOn the shore response is commonly under the responsibility of municipalities or rescue services and for this reason commonly require additional coordination with the offshore response units. In addition, as the Baltic Sea is a relatively small sea area, a large scale spill may contaminate several kilometres of shoreline and affect both the vegetation and the animals – and require international assistance. In order to be prepared for such severe situations it is essential that effective mechanisms for international assistance between the Helsinki Convention Contracting Parties for pollution incidents on the shore are well established and ready to operate efficiently. HELCOM Response Manual Volume III covers international cooperation on combating spillages of oil and other harmful substances on the shore and the HELCOM Expert Working Group on Response on the Shore (EWG SHORE) works to improve the cooperation.​* * *The

works to ensure swift national and international responses to maritime
pollution incidents, including in case of accident the availability of
appropriate equipment and the joint practice of response procedures in
cooperation with neighbouring states. The group also coordinates the aerial
surveillance of maritime shipping routes to detect oil spills and other potentially harmful substances released into
the Baltic Sea and help identify suspected polluters. The meetings
of the HELCOM Response Group have been held regularly among all Baltic Sea
countries and EU for over thirty years. * * * For more information, please contact:Hermanni BackerProfessional Secretary for Maritime, Response and Fish groupsHELCOMTel:  +358 46 8509199Skype: helcom02E-mail: hermanni.backer(at)helcom.fi​

Latvia and Lithuania demonstrate joint onshore capacity at Balex Delta 2016. This international dimension of the onshore exercise is a new aspect in HELCOM context.

​Ten cubic meters of popcorn played the leading role of a large oil slick today offshore Klaipeda, Lithuania, in the annual Baltic Sea pollution response exercise 2016. Fourteen ships from eight Baltic coastal states formed the HELCOM fleet simulating real life disaster response in a collision between an oil tanker and a trawler, involving a risk of damaging the nearby highly sensitive nature areas with 5,000 tons of crude oil. A large-scale national onshore exercise was organized simultaneously for deployment of the clean-up units as well as coordination between all the actors involved.  The simulated oil accident took place in the middle of particularly sensitive marine and coastal areas north of Klaipeda. The largest maritime counter-pollution drill of its kind in the Baltic Sea area – and one of the largest worldwide – has been a regular HELCOM practice for almost thirty years, in one of the most vulnerable and busiest sea areas in the world. All HELCOM member states take turns in hosting the annual exercise.  Igor Kuzmenko, Chief Coordinator of the exercise was pleased with the proceedings. “Today we set up a full-scale oil recovery operation at the site of the accident, and for the first time some countries’ response vessels, from Denmark, Finland, Latvia and Poland, arrived straight to the spill area, ‘on call’,  for added realism. The ships were successfully deploying oil containment booms and skimming equipment”, he said. The annual HELCOM Balex Delta was hosted this year by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of the Lithuanian Navy. The shore operation was coordinated by Klaipeda City Fire and Rescue Service. More than forty persons, many from outside the region, signed up as observers of the exercise.The aim of Balex Delta is to test the alarm procedures and the response capability of the HELCOM countries. Cooperation between combating units as well as staff functions are tested and trained for. Communication between the involved units during the exercise is also practiced by all the participating countries, as well as the interaction between offshore response units and shoreline clean-up units. At the same time, thanks to this year’s large onshore response exercise, the national capabilities and alert procedures concerning shoreline clean-up will also be tested. The response vessels of HELCOM fleet were successfully deploying oil containment booms and skimming equipment​.Background operational response exercises have been held annually since 1989. Throughout this time HELCOM has steadily improved the readiness of the countries around the Baltic to jointly respond to oil spills at sea. Regional cooperation on preparedness and response to pollution incidents has however much longer roots, being a part of the first 1974 Helsinki Convention and followed by a series of related Recommendations right at the start of the permanent HELCOM activities in the early 1980s. The first meeting of the expert group on pollution response took place in 1977. Today, with 80 per cent of global merchandise trade by volume carried by sea and handled by ports worldwide[1], the economic importance of maritime transport – and the risk of collisions and other accidents – cannot be overemphasized. In the Baltic Sea, ship traffic is dense and maritime transport has been in the increase in the recent past.[1] UNCTAD, Review of Maritime Transport 2013.   * * * Note to Editors:The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission, or , is an intergovernmental organisation of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU which works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution. HELCOM is the governing body of the “Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area,” known as the Helsinki Convention.  * * * For more information, please contact:Heli HaapasaariChair of HELCOM Response Working GroupFinnish Environment Institute – SYKETel: +358 40 1793050E-mail: heli.haapasaari(at)environment.fi Johanna LaurilaInformation SecretaryHELCOMTel: +358 40 523 8988Skype: helcom70E-mail: johanna.laurila(at)helcom.fi Hermanni BackerProfessional Secretary for Maritime and ResponseHELCOMTel:  +358 46 8509199Skype: helcom02E-mail: hermanni.backer(at)helcom.fi

Fourteen ships formed the HELCOM fleet today offshore Klaipeda, Lithuania, which took action in disaster response simulation involving an oil tanker and a trawler.

​​Final stage for HELCOM in making the Baltic Sea area cleaner from Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions from ships was reached in the Heads of Delegation meeting in Laulasmaa, Estonia this week. The final decision on whether the Baltic Sea becomes a NOx Emission Control Area (NECA) is in the hands of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). According to estimates, Baltic Sea NECA has potential to reduce the annual nitrogen input cost-efficiently and significantly – around 7 kilotons – to the Baltic Sea. NOx emissions from shipping is a major source of airborne deposition of nitrogen, aggravating the serious eutrophication of the Baltic Sea.​The Baltic Sea NECA application will be submitted in parallel to a similar NECA document from the North Sea countries. For the industry this will be useful as the two neighbouring NECA areas will create an area with identical requirements. Moreover, HELCOM will continue to promote and also follow up on the impact of applying advanced technologies, such as the ones leading to the establishment of Baltic NECA. Other decisions by the delegates from all the Baltic coastal states as well as the EU include the launching of a public online follow up system – HELCOM Explorer – for reviewing progress in accomplishing the majority of HELCOM commitments and publishing of a new assessment on pharmaceuticals. In addition, the meeting participants approved two guidelines related to maritime spatial planning (): Guidelines on transboundary consultations, public participation and co-operation, and a second set for the implementation of ecosystem-based approach in MSP in the Baltic Sea area. Another agreement by the delegates is to change the hosting of data on ships’ movement in the Baltic – HELCOM Automatic Identification System (AIS) – from Denmark to Norway by the end of this year. All Baltic Sea countries being also EU member states provide AIS information to European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) via the HELCOM AIS, and hosting by Norway will ensure the continuation of this service. The two-year period of the Estonian Chairmanship of HELCOM will be terminated in two weeks and the turn is handed over to the European Union with their Chairmanship priorities already finalized. Reflections on the accomplishments of HELCOM in relation to the priorities of the Estonian Chairmanship were presented in the meeting and published in writing soon. . All meeting documents will be made available soon after the Meeting.Matjaz Malgaj of EU, forthcoming Vice-Chair of HELCOM (left), ​receives the symbolic key of HELCOM Chairmanship from Harry Liiv of Estonia, the current Chair until 30 June 2016.​* * *Note for editorsThe Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as , is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.* * *For more information, please contact:Johanna LaurilaInformation SecretaryHELCOMTel: +358 40 523 8988Skype: helcom70E-mail: johanna.laurila(at)helcom.fi​

Decision made this week unanimously by HELCOM Heads of Delegation; potential for considerable Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) reductions

​What                     Oil response exercise HELCOM Balex Delta 2016 When                   Tuesday 21 June 2016 at 09.00–15.00 (CET). Operational phase at sea and on the shore. Debriefing at 18.00–19.00                                                                Who                      Fifteen specially equipped response vessels from eight Baltic coastal countries; Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden, and around 120 participants of the national shoreline response exercise.                                 Where                  Exercise area at sea: North of Klaipeda port, LithuaniaExercise area on the shore: Karkle beach, north of Klaipeda town in front of Zilvitis camp Exercise debriefing: Amberton Klaipeda Hotel, Naujojo Sodo g. 1C WhyThe HELCOM Balex Delta exercise simulates a large real life oil catastrophe in one of the most vulnerable – and busiest – sea areas in the world. The goal is to recover as much oil as possible in the open sea before it would reach the shores, as estimates are that this is roughly ten times more cost-efficient than shoreline clean-up. The annual HELCOM Balex Delta is hosted this year by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of the Lithuanian Navy. The shore operation is coordinated by Klaipeda City Fire and Rescue Service. More than forty persons, many from outside the region, have signed up as observers of the exercise. The exercise programme, list of participating units at sea and on shore, as well as the list of vessels and equipment are provided as attachments. HELCOM Balex Delta, organized since the late 1980s, test the procedures documented in the HELCOM Response Manual and the response capability of the HELCOM member countries in case of a major accident and an international response operation. The general objective of the Balex Delta exercises is to ensure that every Contracting Party is able to lead a major response operation. Media representatives are asked to apply for accreditationby 17 June 2016, by providing contact information (name, media, e-mail, phone number) to:antanas.brencius@mil.lt. * * *Note for editors:The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as , is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union 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, from 1974. * * *For further information, please contact:Johanna Laurila (Ms)Information SecretaryHELCOMMobile: +358 40 523 8988E-mail: johanna.laurila(at)helcom.fi Antanas Brencius (Mr.)Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) OfficerMaritime rescue coordination centerTel: +370 46 391 207Mobile: +370 698 18 196E-mail: antanas.brencius@mil.lt

The annual oil response exercise HELCOM Balex Delta 2016 will be held in Klaipeda, Lithuania on 21 June – please accreditate by 17 June 2016.

​​​​Finding cost-efficient solutions to remediate the pollution from a large waste landfill Krasnyi Bor in St. Petersburg, Russia, is the main reason for a study visit to the site today. Experts from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Russia and Sweden will be joined by representatives of national environmental administrations, international financial institutions, NGOs as well as regional and federal environmental authorities of Russia. The study visit is organized by the Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety of the City of St. Petersburg.Krasnyi Bor waste landfill area. Photo from HELCOM BASE Project report, Status of HELCOM Hot Spots in Russia. The alarming situation of the toxic waste landfill Krasnyi Bor located in the vicinity of the city of St. Petersburg was discussed at the last HELCOM Annual in March. HELCOM , which is the subsidiary body responsible for matters related to land based pollution of the Baltics Sea, was mandated in April to consider the situation around the “Hot Spot”. As a result, the visitors will explore today the site itself in order to discuss the most acute aspects of the problem as well as elaborate further plans of the possible involvement of the international experts and financial institutions into the joint effort on remediation of the site.The plan for the day is to visit both the covered and open storages with toxic wastes. The participants will also check the water treatment facility and discuss its operation as well as visit the water drainage system of the landfill including internal and encircling channels, water collectors, accumulating ponds and other elements.The list of HELCOM – significant pollution sites around the Baltic Sea – was originally established in the beginning of 1990s, as a part of HELCOM’s efforts to foster international cooperation and coordination to resolve the most acute environmental problems of the Baltic Sea. Since then, three quarters of the Hot Spots have been removed from the list due to systematic mitigation work by the coastal states.  Nonetheless, some of the polluting sites still remain on the HELCOM agenda.  * * * Note for editorsWorking to safeguard the marine environment from pollution and ensure safe navigation in the Baltic Sea, acts as the governing body of the 1974 Helsinki Convention. HELCOM’s official name is the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission. * * * For more information, please contact:Dmitry Frank-Kamenetsky Professional Secretary HELCOM Tel: +358 40 630 9933 E-mail: dmitry.frank-kamenetsky(at)helcom.fi Daria Golovinova Consular of the Chair of the Committee Sector for international cooperation and environmental education The Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Ecological SafetyCity of St. Petersburg, RussiaTel: +7 812 417 59 39E-mail: golovinova(at)kpoos.gov.spb.ru​

Finding cost-efficient solutions to remediate the pollution from a large waste landfill Krasnyi Bor in St. Petersburg, Russia, is the main reason for a study visit to the site today.

​​​​International Workshop on Port Reception Facilities for the Baltic Sea as Special Area according to MARPOL Annex IV will be organized on 30 June – 1 July 2016 in Kiel, Germany.The workshop is organized by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in cooperation with the Port of Kiel and Baltic Ports Organization (BPO) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). ​The Baltic Sea is a particularly sensitive while at the same time highly cruised sea. Despite many efforts, the accumulation of nutrients and organic matter in the Baltic Sea, coming from different fields of human activity, including sewage from passenger ships, is too high and has significant effects on the sensitive marine ecosystem. A comprehensive network of Baltic ports with adequate port reception facilities (PRFs) for sewage from passenger ships is needed as are enhanced information exchange and improved cooperation among all involved stakeholder groups.  The workshop therefore aims at participation of 2-3 representatives from each country representing politics, administration, municipal sewage treatment providers, ports, plus cruise/shipping industry and NGOs, to update and inform each other on latest developments including implementation options. ​

Registration by 10 June – workshop in Kiel, Germany for representatives of politics, administration, municipal sewage treatment providers, ports, plus cruise/shipping industry and NGOs.

​​The HELCOM expert group on radioactive substances has reviewed this week the latest scientific reports for the year 2015 revealing that for the first time, in the Southern Baltic in the Southern Baltic, Caesium-137 concentrations in surface waters are below the pre-Chernobyl target level of 15 Bq/m3. The decrease is most likely due to the exceptionally large saline water inflow from the North Sea into the Baltic Sea reported in December 2014*. The radioactivity levels have for long been declining in all the sub-basins of the Baltic Sea but this is the first time that the results have dropped this low, at Flensburg Fjord and Bornholm deep in the Southern Baltic.​Levels of radioactivity in the Baltic Sea are measure from e.g flounder. Photo: Petra KääriäIn their meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, the Expert Group on Monitoring of Radioactive Substances in the Baltic Sea (MORS EG) has also discussed the next thematic assessment of long-term changes in Baltic Sea radioactivity 2011–2015, with delivery now scheduled at 2017 as this will match the purposes of HOLAS II, the Second holistic Baltic-wide assessment in 2018. Further, the group will update the HELCOM core indicator “Radioactive substances: Caesium-137 in fish and surface waters” with latest data for the year 2015. In addition, the group has also reviewed and quality assured the annual data submissions to the HELCOM and , containing an unbroken time series from 1984 and 1952, respectively. The meeting, chaired by the MORS EG Chair Ms Tarja Ikäheimonen, was participated also by International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), notifying the addition of HELCOM MORS environmental data to IAEA’s .  ​ *.   . All documents are public after the Meeting. * * * Note for editorsThe Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as , is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region. Since 1974, HELCOM has been the governing body of the ‘Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area’, more commonly known as the Helsinki Convention. * * * For more information, please contact:Tarja K. Ikäheimonen Chair of HELCOM MORS Expert Group Environmental Radiation Surveillance and Emergency Preparedness STUK – Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority Tel. +358 400 811 254 E-mail: Tarja.Ikaheimonen(at)stuk.fi Johanna Laurila Information Secretary HELCOM Tel: +358 40 523 8988 Skype: helcom70 E-mail: johanna.laurila(at)helcom.fi

For the first time, at two monitoring sites, Caesium-137 concentrations in surface waters are below the pre-Chernobyl target level.

​​​Russian Federation hosts a this week on Baltic Sea and North Sea NECAs in St. Petersburg, to advance the action after the decision by the countries of both sea areas to apply in parallel for a NECA status from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). When enforced, the Emission Control Areas (ECA) for Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), will considerably limit the polluting emissions from ships.Group photo of the workshop participants. Click to enlargeThe major basis for the workshop is the revised for the Baltic Sea and the North Sea NECAs, agreed on at the last HELCOM Annual Meeting in March 2016. The agreed deadline for a North and Baltic Sea simultaneous application for IMO is 1 July 2016. The two-day session is aimed for stakeholders, including governance bodies and administrators as well as technology developers, ship owners and port authorities. Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions from shipping is one of the sources of airborne deposition of Nitrogen, aggravating the serious eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. According to estimates, Baltic Sea NECA has potential to reduce cost-efficiently and significantly – around 7 kilotons – Nitrogen input to the Baltic Sea annually after a time lag needed for fleet renewal as the regulation addresses only new ships. The initiative for a Baltic Sea NECA emerges from the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, agreed by the nine coastal countries and the EU in 2007. Since then, HELCOM has carried out the necessary environmental and economic studies, finalized the needed submission papers as well as carried out the negotiations on the right timing for a final submission to IMO. This anticipated reduction is significant and corresponds to more than the entire country-wise Nitrogen pollution load reduction commitment of several Baltic Sea countries – four out of nine – according to the HELCOM Country Allocated Reduction Target (CART) scheme agreed in 2007, and updated in 2013.​ * * *Note for editorsDuring the last decade shipping has steadily increased in the Baltic Sea, reflecting intensifying co-operation and economic prosperity around the region. The of HELCOM, originally established in 1975, identifies and promotes actions to limit sea-based pollution and ways for safer navigation. It also works to ensure enforcement and harmonized implementation of international shipping regulations in accordance to the 1992 Helsinki Convention. The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as , is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region. * * *For more information, please contact:Natalia KutaevaVice-Chair of HELCOM Maritime GroupCouncellor to the Director, Marine Rescue Service of Rosmorrechflot (MRS)Tel: +7 4956261806E-mail: kutaevang(at)morspas.com Hermanni BackerProfessional Secretary for Maritime, Response and Fish groupsHELCOMTel:  +358 46 8509199E-mail: hermanni.backer(at)helcom.fi Johanna LaurilaInformation SecretaryHELCOMTel: +358 40 523 8988E-mail: johanna.laurila(at)helcom.fi

Baltic Sea NECA has potential to reduce cost-efficiently and significantly the nitrogen input to the Baltic Sea – around 7 kilotons per year.

​​​​The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission () and the Cruise Lines International Association () have jointly held a on the cruise industry and the Baltic Sea. Organised in the framework of the, which is being celebrated in Turku, Finland this week, the workshop on “Effective solutions for responsible growth” has given participants a chance to discuss a range of issues regarding the cruise industry’s present and future in the Baltic.Moderated by Hermanni Backer, HELCOM, the workshop speakers included Tom Strang, Carnival Corp.; Anna Petersson, Swedish Transport Agency; Kirsti Tarnanen-Sariola, European Sea Ports Organisation; and Pauli Merriman, WWF Ecoregion Programme. Together they have discussed a range of relevant topics, such as the industry’s economic impact in the Baltic countries, state-of-the art developments in the cruise industry, and the potential for maritime stakeholders’ cooperation for responsible growth.Together with the audience, the speakers have also discussed some of the challenges that the industry faces, particularly in terms of sustainability and environmental protection, focusing on issues such as ships’ air emissions abatement and wastewater treatment and discharges. They provided suggestions to remove bottlenecks for a prosperous future of cruising and a sustainable maritime economy in the Baltic.Particularly on the topic of wastewater discharges, the International Maritime Organization has recently designated the Baltic Sea as a Special Area under MARPOL Annex IV, banning passenger ships from discharging sewage offshore from 2019/2021. The discussion focused on the practicalities of its implementation, particularly the need to expand and improve the region’s network of port reception facilities in order to make sure that cruise ships will be able to discharge their sewage while at berth.”Sustainability in the Baltic Sea Region is a common goal and regional collaboration is vital,” said Anna Petersson, Head of Environment Section at Swedish Transport Agency and the Chair of HELCOM Maritime Group. “It is important to investigate possibilities and incentives for voluntary application prior and beyond regulations.””All stakeholders should work together in order to find pragmatic, workable solutions that help ensure the Baltic Sea’s sustainability and also the cruise industry’s future in the region for years to come,” said Tom Strang, SVP Maritime Affairs at Carnival Corp. and & Chair of CLIA Europe’s Environment, Safety and Security Subcommittee. “There is an urgent need to balance economic and environmental policies so that they complement each other, rather than get in each other’s way.” * * * Notes for editors About HELCOMHELCOM (Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – Helsinki Commission) is the governing body of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, known as the Helsinki Convention. The Contracting Parties are Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. HELCOM was established four decades ago to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution through intergovernmental cooperation. HELCOM’s vision for the future is a healthy Baltic Sea environment with diverse biological components functioning in balance, resulting in a good ecological status and supporting a wide range of sustainable economic and social activities. For more information, visit and follow HELCOM and pages bout CLIA Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is the unified voice and leading authority of the global cruise community. As the largest cruise industry trade association with 15 offices globally, CLIA has representation in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. CLIA’s mission is to support policies and practices that foster a safe, secure and healthy cruise ship environment for the more than 23 million passengers who cruise annually, as well as to promote the value, desirability and affordability of the cruise vacation experience. Members are comprised of the world’s most prestigious ocean, river and specialty cruise lines; a highly trained and certified travel agent community; and cruise line suppliers and partners, including ports & destinations, ship development, suppliers and business services, committed to the sustained success of the cruise industry. For more information, visit or follow Cruise Lines International Association on CLIA and pages * * * For more information, please contact:Johanna LaurilaInformation SecretaryHELCOMTel: +358 40 523 8988E-mail: johanna.laurila(at)helcom.fi Diego Llorens Echegaray ADVISOR | COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC AFFAIRSCruise Lines International Association (CLIA) EuropeRue Montoyer 40 | Brussels 1000Tel. +32 488 889 153​E-mail: g​​

Cruise industry stakeholders discuss effective solutions for responsible growth in the framework of the Eu-ropean Maritime Day.