In response to the heightened risk of oil spills in the Baltic Sea, particularly in the Gulf of Finland, Finland is urging the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to enhance its preparedness measures.
In particular, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, along with the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom and the Finnish Border Guard, are advocating for the distribution of EMSA’s oil spill response vessels to be more evenly spread across European waters.
What is the dark/shadow fleet?
The “dark fleet” or “shadow fleet” comprises primarily older tankers, many of which have not undergone recent inspections and lack proper maintenance. Ownership of these vessels is often unclear, and they frequently operate without adequate insurance coverage, seeking to evade sanctions and mitigate high insurance costs. This increases the risk of oil spill or collision.
Finland wants the EMSA to launch a procurement procedure to contract a stand-by oil spill response vessel that is capable of navigating in ice and suited to conditions in the northern parts of the Baltic Sea.
The EMSA’s network of oil spill response vessels has 14 vessels at the moment. Only one of them is stationed in the southern parts of the Baltic Sea despite recent years seeing a higher risk of oil spills especially in the Gulf of Finland. Finland feels that the EMSA should contract a new vessel for the northern parts of the Baltic Sea in addition to the existing vessel stationed in the southern parts.
…said the Ministry of Transport in a statement.
As explained, the increased threat of oil spills in the Baltic Sea, particularly in the Gulf of Finland, has been heightened due to international sanctions compelling Russia to utilize older vessels with inadequate insurance coverage for oil transportation.
Winter weather conditions further escalate these risks, particularly for older Russian crude oil vessels that may lack proper equipment and are ill-suited for ice navigation. The process of oil recovery in icy conditions presents greater challenges and expenses compared to spills in open water.
The EMSA Administrative Board will convene in Lisbon, Portugal, on 5–6 June 2024. Finland, Sweden and Estonia will organise a side event to the meeting explaining the demands of the operating environment in the Baltic Sea and the conditions for oil spill response in the northern parts of the Baltic Sea. Their objective is to increase awareness among the EMSA and EU Member States of the risks associated with oil spills in the region and induce them to allocate more EU funds to the northern parts of the Baltic Sea.
…..said the Ministry of Transport.
