DERECHO ELECTORAL

Finland is a forerunner in the market surveillance of boats.

The year 2013 saw a shift towards a more risk-sensitive strategy in the market surveillance of boats. This means that operators who exhibit no defects in their products will be inspected at longer intervals than those whose products have been reported as containing deficiencies. The goal is to direct surveillance at the areas where it is needed and where the best possible impact can be achieved.

Vessels involved in fatal accidents in waterborne traffic in 2010-2012 Source: Statistics Finland 2013

Photo: Mika Huisman

Summary

Compared with other, more important, sea areas in Europe, Finn-ish waters have seen relatively few accidents classified as very serious in the last ten years. The number of serious accidents involving Finnish ships has also remained relatively low. This can be taken to indicate that the safeguards developed have played a clear role in minimising the consequences of accidents.

If we look back on accidents with less serious consequences, we can conclude that their number has increased over the long term, both in the northern Baltic Sea and among ships operated by Finnish shipping companies. Such development has traditionally been interpreted as foreshadowing an increase in the number of serious accidents, due to the fact that in a situation where less serious accidents become more frequent, the ’last line of defence’ is more likely to be breached in certain conditions. For example, a navigational error may lead to a ship running aground and sinking in the archipelago, similar to the fate suffered by the Costa Concordia. However, development is seldom as straightforward as this, as the risk is significantly affected by structural background factors and their interaction, whose combined effect is difficult to assess, let alone control.

For the northern Baltic Sea and Lake Saimaa, localised accident scenarios can be specified on the basis of previous surveys and Trafi’s assessment. The worst-case scenario for the Gulf of Finland involves two cargo holds of a tanker sustaining damage in an accident, with approximately 30,000 tons of oil being spilled into the Gulf of Finland. The accident scenario for the Bothnian Sea and the Bothnian Bay involves the grounding of a bulk carrier, which may result in substantial damage to the environment, depending on the amount of fuel and cargo

economy does not derive from a lack of economic resources, but from underlying attitudes.

Trade magazines on safety at sea frequently publish articles on the importance of a strong safety culture to accident prevention. The characteristics of such a culture include a positive attitude among personnel towards safety promotion regulations and guidelines, a committed management for which safety always takes precedence over economic considerations when there is a conflict between the two, and a safe atmosphere in which reporting errors is not avoided but learned from.

To promote strong safety cultures, Trafi has launched a project targeted at finding better ways of obtaining informa-tion on the above-meninforma-tioned errors and breaches of safety regulations, as well as encouraging stakeholders in shipping to adopt new ways of thinking. The intention is to identify risks through analysis, thus enabling corrective action before risks are realised. This project will be largely implemented through collaboration between the public and private sectors.

In addition to Trafi, seven Finnish shipping companies, the Finnish Shipowners’ Association, and Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd will participate.

Work in promotion of safer and environmentally friendly shipping is being conducted through the European Union strategy and action plan for the Baltic Sea region, particularly through the implementation of its 15 priority sectors, four of which are being coordinated by Finland. The measures included in the Baltic Sea Maritime Safety Programme and carried by the vessel in question. In the Sea of Åland and

the Archipelago Sea, the grounding of a passenger ship is generally regarded as the kind of accident scenario most readily applicable to these waters. The grounding of a passenger ship engaged in domestic traffic is the principal accident scenario sketched out for the Saimaa Canal and Lake Saimaa.

No definitive explanation is available for the increase in the number of less serious accidents. One factor may be the rise in the volume of vessel traffic. According to the findings of port state control inspections, the poor state of repair of the vessel fleet and its being manned in breach of regulations do not constitute a particular problem. The reasons for most accidents that fall into this category are explained by circumstances such as the ‘human factor’, ‘technical problems’ or ‘organisational factors’. Such factors, however, are rather general explanations when applied to fairly unusual accidents. Improved accident prevention requires that more information on hazardous situations, near misses and breaches of regulations relating to vessels and crew is made available in operational support of both the private and public sectors.

In view of the current economic outlook for shipping, which is highly sensitive to economic fluctuations, it is unrealistic to expect overnight solutions to long-term, safety-related prob-lems such as undermanning or the insufficient service and maintenance of ships. When put into practice, cost-saving measures are often applied to precisely these sensitive functions, adjudged to be critical from the safety viewpoint.

Unfortunately, in many cases the conflict between safety and

for maritime surveillance. CISE will make the various systems compatible, thus enabling easy information exchange based on state-of-the-art technology. This is an intriguing prospect for safety experts.