The Very Real Danger of Environmental Damage to the Region of Trieste as Well as the Short and Sensitive Slovene Coast Given Expected Traffic Increase in the Gulf of Trieste

This paper not only presents the results of studies assessing the influence of expected intensive increase of traffic on collision probability in the Gulf of Trieste, but real incidents as well as a model that suggests with accuracy the likely results of oil spillage in the gulf. A stochastic, simulation model (working in fast time) was used in the research. Ship traffic was modeled on the basis of real data obtained from AIS, as are the reports of actual incidents.JRC.G.4-Maritime affair

Oil Spills in the Adriatic Sea

Despite the northwest-southeast orientation of the Adriatic Sea, commercially it is virtually a north-south sea, as it penetrates deep into the European continent, nearly to the foot of the Alps. Large vessel traffic is dense, and accordingly there is a great deal of operational pollution along with the constant threat of accidents and incidents. Researchers have developed the means to detect much of the pollution in the Adriatic, to estimate its extent, and even the means, through satellite images and the process of backtracking, to identify polluters. These techniques promise that the increasing volume of traffic in the Adriatic may coincide with a reduction of pollution from commercial vessels. However, many other sources of oil pollution are of concern, including off shore industry, fishing, natural seeps, extraction of natural gases and oil from beneath the sea bed, and the corroding wrecks from as long as seventy years ago. There is also concern that legislation is not strict enough in the cases of platforms and chemical tankers. Further issues and complications derive from the nature of the sea, which is shallow, and is fed by a high number of streams and rivers. The Adriatic, as is actually the case for the entire Mediterranean, is classified as a Special Area (according to MARPOL Annex I), which limits the amount of legal discharging of oily wastes, for instance. In addition, since few years the possibility to extend to the Adriatic the status of Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) is under discussion. Yet the likelihood that traffic will increase and the causes of pollution detailed here will persist, suggests that the need for continued scientific intervention and further legislation will also increase if the Adriatic is to maintain a semblance of a healthy environment.JRC.E.6-Demography, Migration and Governanc

The Use of Integrated Maritime Simulation for Education in Real Time

In one sentence the history of maritime simulation applied to teaching future sailors is primarily that simulators filled a vacuum left by the severe reduction in opportunities for on board training as a primary resource. Of course, simulators are in any case a valuable educational tool, but though the maritime instructor would consider them worth any expense for pedagogical uses alone, many administrators may be said to appreciate the added benefit of simulators for research purposes. These two uses merge most fortuitously when a news-making accident occurs, especially if the simulators are of a high quality and integrated. 6 February, 2008, ¿M/V Und Adriyatik¿ caught fire off the coast of Istria, in Croatian waters about three hours short of the Bay of Piran. Given the proximity to Slovene waters, we were immediately called upon to assess the dangers to the environment. Yet as classes were in session we were able to involve students in the process. This paper will describe the process and the results, emphasizing the interplay between faculty and students in a complex integrated simulator facility at which a potentially urgent current maritime event is occurring. A distillation of the thesis could be that partnership between student and professor during a news-making event provides both added stimulation for the student and elevates the simulator a degree toward a vehicle for practical training. Key words: Oil Spill Crisis Management, Fire on Board, Integrated Maritime SimulatorJRC.G.4-Maritime affair

Satellite Monitoring of Illicit Maritime Pollution: Backtracking Towards Source Identification

A very mysterious spill was recently discovered near the Istrian peninsula. Immediate response action was launched and later successful oil recovery was announced. Late that same afternoon, after the announced recovery, some oil patches were found along the coast. Four different images were analyzed - three of them acquired by optical sensor and one with radar. The size and shape of the fingerprint as well as the oil's weathered condition suggested that this could be more extensive pollution, the initial release location still unknown, as well as the quantity, carrying the possibility that oil remained below the surface, and that thus further impact on the coast was possible. Three days later, an unusually intense storm hit the area, and part of the hidden/sunken oil beached on the coast 10 Nm north of the initial location where the oil reached the coast. Based on the described case study, integration of an spill area derived from the satellite images, with HF measured currents and AIS shipping database supporting the backtracking oil spill application will be demonstrated as an appropriate system for the purpose of polluter identification. Keywords: Satellite surveillance, illicit oil pollution, hindcast simulation, backtrackingJRC.DG.G.4-Maritime affair

Continuous surveillance and response against operational and accidental pollution at sea

The maritime sector has been and will continue to be of strategic importance for Europe due to the nature of its economy, topology, history and tradition. Many relevant analyses indicate explicitly or implicitly that shipping stands as the backbone of the transport system. Some 90% of the goods traffic to and from the European Union is transported by sea. Europe¿s sea lanes are among the busiest in the world. The negative aspect of this is that both potential and actual marine oil spills pose a risk for European coastlines in terms of ecological damage, socio-economic losses and influence on coastal industries. Therefore the European coastal states have decided to establish satellite surveillance systems to monitor the state of the seas, to deter potential polluters and to support combating activities. This system is called the CleanSeaNet - CSN service - and is run by the European Maritime Safety Agency - EMSA - now operational for almost two years. CSN satellite service delivers oil spill alerts in near real time by using radar satellite imagery acquired by the Envisat and Radarsat SAR satellites. The significance and potential improvements of continuous satellite monitoring towards improved response capacity will be elaborated in this paper analyzing the West Cork pollution case that occurred on February 14, 2009.JRC.G.4-Maritime affair

Maritime Transport in the Gulf of Trieste - a Threat to Secovlje Salt Pans?

Among the thousands of commercial vessels that sail into the gulf of Trieste destined to ports in Koper, Trieste, Monfalcone, Grado and Portoro¿, are those transporting dangerous cargo such as crude oil, crude oil derivatives and various chemicals, amounting to over 40 million tons a year. Further, the northern Adriatic coastal region is threatened not only by pollution following collision or grounding but also by intentional discharge from all types of ships dumping oily water and sometimes alien species in discharged ballast water. The sensitivity of the Slovenian coast is greatest in the western stretch where the salt pans and the regional park are situated. For ensuring the protection of such areas a vessel traffic management system and joint pollution combating arrangements are essential. Among Slovenia, Italy and Croatia a special group has been launched for preparing a plan for ballast water management in the Adriatic and a sub-regional contingency plan was passed for the cooperation, intervention and suppression of the consequences of serious oil spills and leakage of other dangerous substances into the sea. Moreover, newly adopted European instruments like CleanSeaNet service, which started on April 2007 under the supervision of the European Maritime Safety Agency, contribute to overall environmental protection. Lectures given during the AMMM Meeting on the topic of ¿Salt pans: Cultural Landscape in Danger¿ in Piran in 2006 [1] exposed the environmental sensitivity of the salt pans in the northeastern Mediterranean. At that time we used data from the AESOP project (Aerial and Satellite Surveillance of Operational Pollution in the Adriatic Sea) [2] conducted by REMPEC and EC JRC, wherein the objective was to discover illicit oil pollution instances in the Adriatic. Recently, on August 6th 2008, a very mysterious spill occurred and affected the western Istrian coast. Three days later, an unusually intense storm (reports of sustained winds up to 180 km/h, lasting some 45 minutes) hit the area, and part of the hidden/sunken oil beached on the coast in Piran Bay in the vicinity of the Secovlje salt pans. The rapid action of closing water gates to the salt pans was suggested by the research team involved. Such relatively minor spills should be viewed as warnings of what may happen in case of a major accidental pollution. This paper will provide more data about the problem of illicit pollution, and focus on research work based on the case of this recent oil pollution. Attention will be given to threats of accidental pollution and ideas will be suggested for enhancing preparedness and response through the integration of the latest technology, including the use of a simulator for managing crises at sea.JRC.G.4-Maritime affair