Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission

Maritime Working Group Tallinn, Estonia, 6-8 September 2016

MARITIME 16-2016

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Document title Information on the outcomes of recent HELCOM meetings

Code 2-1

Category INF

Agenda Item 2 - Matters arising from HELCOM meetings

Submission date 01.09.2016

Submitted by Secretariat

Reference

Background

Information on the outcomes of the following meetings within the framework of HELCOM held in the

intersessional period is available in the HELCOM Meeting Portal:

- 37th Meeting of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM 37-2016), Helsinki, Finland, 10-11 March 2016,

- 49th Meeting of the HELCOM Heads of Delegation (HOD 49-2015), Helsinki, Finland, 10-11 December 2015,

- 50th Meeting of the HELCOM Heads of Delegation (HOD 50-2016), Laulasmaa, Estonia, 15-16 June 2016,

- 27th Meeting of the Expert Working Group for Mutual Exchange and Deliveries of AIS & Data (AIS EWG 27-2016), St. Petersburg, Russia, 31 May – 1 June 2016,

- 21st Meeting of the HELCOM Response Group (RESPONSE 21-2016), Stockholm, Sweden, 15-17 March 2016,

- Fourth Meeting of the HELCOM Expert Group on environmental risks of hazardous submerged objects (SUBMERGED 4-2016), Tallinn, Estonia, 12-14 April 2016,

- Twelfth Meeting of the Joint HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning Working Group (HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG 12-2016), Gdansk, Poland, 24-25 February 2016.

Action requested

The Meeting is invited to take note of the outcomes and to discuss issues of relevance to HELCOM MARITIME under relevant Agenda Items.

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Extracts from the outcomes of HELCOM meetings after MARITIME 15-2015

(Meetings listed according to date)

HOD 49-2015 10-11 December 2015

Maritime and Response

4.74 The Meeting took note of the outcome of the 15th Meeting of the HELCOM Maritime

Working Group (MARITIME 15-2015), Klaipeda, Lithuania, 23-25 November 2015 (documents 4-30 and 4-

30-Corr.1).

4.75 The Meeting congratulated Ms. Anna Petersson, Sweden, Ms. Natalia Kutaeva, Russia, and

Mr. Jorma Kämäräinen, Finland, for re-election as chair and vice-chairs, respectively, of the Maritime

Working Group for the next two-year period (2016-2017).

4.76 The Meeting approved organizing the next meeting of the Maritime Working Group during

the week 5-9 September 2016.

4.77 The Meeting adopted the Terms of Reference for the Joint HELCOM-OSPAR Task Group on

Ballast Water Management Convention Exemptions (HELCOM-OSPAR TG BALLAST) for 2015-2016

(document 4-31) with the information that HELCOM considers the footnote as deleted.

4.78 The Meeting took note that the 2004 IMO Ballast Water Management Convention is very

close to entry into force as on the basis of preliminary calculations by the IMO Secretariat only a fraction of

a percentage is missing from the remaining unfulfilled criteria on ratified flag state tonnage.

4.79 The Meeting recalled that HELCOM and OSPAR have carried out substantial work on

preparing for the implementation of the BWM Convention in the Baltic and North-East Atlantic regions and

noted that with entry into force of the Convention the results will likely collect increased interest from

other regions.

4.80 The Meeting noted that one of the central products is the HELCOM-OSPAR Joint Harmonised

Procedure, a system to implementat regulation A-4 (exemptions) of the BWMC, and that the online risk

assessment tool would benefit from enhancements to make it more user friendly.

4.81 The Meeting took note that a revision to HELCOM Recommendation 25/7 has been endorsed

by MARITIME and will be submitted to HELCOM 37-2016 for adoption.

4.82 The Meeting took note that Sweden relies mainly on criminal sanctions, which limits a

practical application of harmonized level of administrative fines to be considered by the ongoing revision of

HELCOM Recommendation 19/14.

4.83 The Meeting took note of the draft Roadmap for designating a NECA in the Baltic Sea in

parallel with the North Sea (document 4-29) as well as the NECA-related outcome of MARITIME 15-2015 as

presented by Demark (Annex 3).

4.84 The Meeting took note of the statement by Germany, supported by WWF, that the

postponement of NECA submission dates and effective date in the NECA Roadmap to 2021 is not their first

option but can be accepted for the sake of compromise.

4.85 The Meeting considered further steps how to proceed with the NECA issue and with the

draft roadmap and welcomed that Denmark will submit a revised version, based on the outcome of

MARITIME 15-2015, to HELCOM 37-2016 for adoption.

4.86 The Meeting took note that national consultations are still ongoing in Finland, and therefore,

Finland will inform on their position on the timing of NECA at HELCOM 37-2016.

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4.87 The Meeting noted that Finland remains the only country that is not ready yet to decide on

the timing of the Baltic NECA, in parallel to the North Sea NECA.

4.88 The Meeting took note of the statement by the EU that it is important to keep in mind

appropriate procedures in Contracting Parties that are EU Member States when considering the different

steps under the NECA roadmap.

4.89 The Meeting considered the proposal by Sweden for financing model for the maintenance of

the Seatrack Web (STW) (document 4-16).

4.90 The Meeting took note that with regard to this financing scheme for Finland, Lithuania,

Germany and Latvia it is the only option that contributions from national institutions are paid directly to

SMHI hosting the tool.

4.91 The Meeting took note of the following comments by Contracting Parties on the financing of

the STW tool:

Denmark, Finland, Lithuania and Germany can support the contributions allocated to them in the

document 4-16.

Latvia needs to consider more the basis of calculating the contribution.

Russia is not prepared to participate as Russia is using another model and is not in favour of using

HELCOM budget for the scheme.

Poland and Estonia need more time for national consultations.

4.92 The Meeting invited Poland, Estonia and Latvia to clarify their position to Sweden as soon as

possible.

4.93 The Meeting adopted the proposed core pressure indicator on oil spills affecting the marine

environment (document 4-9) with the change that Figure 1 (page 5) should include both flight hours and

estimates of volume of spills, and pending the confirmation by Germany by end of this year.

4.94 The Meeting approved the proposal for HELCOM Project on Maritime Assessment (Annex 4)

to enable involvement of the needed expertise and took note of the outline of the Maritime Assessment

(document 4-23). The Meeting took note of the Russian proposal to cover the positive long-term trends

such as the significant decrease in illegal spills in the Baltic Sea 1989-2015 and reduction of emission of

sulphur from shipping.

4.95 The Meeting took note of the Baltic LINes project to be implemented 2016-2019 (document

4-34).

Follow-up system for HELCOM agreements

4.96 The Meeting took note of the presentation by the Secretariat of the draft assessment of

accomplishment of HELCOM actions implemented at a regional level and the test case of an action

implemented at the national level, carried out by the Secretariat as requested by GEAR 12-2015 (document

4-15, 4-15 Att 1, Presentation 2).

4.97 The Meeting recalled that the system covers actions committed under the Baltic Sea Action

Plan and 2010 and 2013 Ministerial Declarations as well as HELCOM Recommendations adopted since the

BSAP.

4.98 The Meeting noted that the evaluation criteria for the follow-up of actions have been

reviewed by HELCOM Working Groups during 2015. The Meeting further noted that the aim is to create a

web-based implementation database with possibility to extract results and to visualize results based on a

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set of pre-defined figures and that the technical completion of the system is supported by resources from

the EU co-financed BalticBOOST project.

4.99 The Meeting welcomed the system as a transparent way to follow progress of

accomplishment of HELCOM commitments and was of the view that it will simplify the reporting by

Contracting Parties.

4.100 The Meeting noted that the WWF welcomed the development of a transparent follow-up of

HELCOM agreements.

4.101 The Meeting considered the proposal to report actions implemented at the national level by

mid-February 2016 with the view to presenting first exmplary draft results as progress report to HELCOM

37-2016. The Meeting noted that a majority of Contracting Parties will be able to provide reporting of

national actions within this time-frame while other Contracting Parties were not in a position to guarantee

reporting on all themes by this time.

4.102 The Meeting agreed on a step-wise approach on the reporting where two themes would be

reported by mid-February 2016 and two themes by end of February 2016 and invited the countries to

finalize the reporting according to this time-table as far as possible. For one specific theme with the fewest

number of actions, still to be identified, all Contracting Parties are requested to prioritize reporting by mid-

February in order to be able to present results at HELCOM 37-2016.

4.103 The Meeting discussed two options of visualizing implementation of national actions and was

of the view that they could be visualized by displaying accomplishment of individual actions by all

Contracting Parties in the same figure (cf. figure 3, document 4-15), or by preparing web-pages listing

country-wise accomplishment of actions. The Meeting noted that Lithuania preferred the first option while

Denmark will return with a clarification on the preferred visualization within a week.

4.104 The Meeting noted the comment by Russia on the importance of clarifying the information

contained in document 4-15 and 4-15-Att.1 before making it available to the general public.

4.105 The Meeting took note that Denmark might come back regarding the criteria for assessing

accomplishment by mid-February 2016 (by Gear meeting).

4.106 The Meeting noted that Sweden wished to see a possibility to seek for synergies with

identifying reporting requirements as under e.g. EU directives and to the EEA.

HELCOM institutional and organisational matters

5.8 The Meeting was concerned about late submission and high number of documents to the

working group meetings and HOD 49 meeting that cannot be properly coordinated anymore within

different governmental systems and such short deadlines. The Meeting agreed to review the status of

HELCOM’s streamlining, including organizational and work flows, in HOD 50-2016 next June.

HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG 12-2016 24-25 February 2016

[No extracts provided for Joint HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning Working Group Meeting 12-2016

– see the above outcome link]

HELCOM 37-2016 10-11 March 2016

NOx Emission Control Area (NECA)

4.28 The Meeting considered the draft roadmap for the Baltic Sea and the North Sea NECAs as

included in document 4-3, introduced by Denmark.

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4.29 The Meeting recalled that eight out of nine coastal countries have already expressed

readiness to agree on the roadmap as included in document 4-3.

4.30 The Meeting welcomed the information that the remaining country Finland has also clarified

its position and can now agree on the NECA Roadmap included in document 4-3.

4.31 The Meeting agreed on the final wording of the roadmap as included in document 4-3-Rev.1,

confirmed the decision to submit the proposal by the HELCOM countries to designate the Baltic Sea as a

NOx Emission Control Area with the corresponding submission by the North Sea countries to IMO Marine

Environment Protection Committee 70 in 2016 and adopted the “Roadmap for the simultaneous

designation of Baltic Sea and the North Sea NECAs” as included in Annex 4.

4.32 The Meeting highlighted that this decision to adopt the NECA Roadmap is one of the major

single decisions HELCOM has taken during the last years in terms of concrete nutrient pollution reduction

potential and took note of the statement by the Chair on the occasion (Annex 5) where he thanked the

Contracting Parties for having the courage to take this important decision for the Baltic Sea marine

environment.

4.33 The Meeting requested the Contracting Parties to submit suggestions for concrete updates

to the IMO NECA submission and background document by 31 March 2016 and welcomed the offer by

Finland to coordinate the updating process together with the HELCOM Secretariat with a view of submitting

the revised files to HOD 50-2016 for adoption according to the NECA roadmap.

4.34 The Meeting took note of the statement by the EU that with regard to those Contracting

Parties that are also EU Member States there is an obligation to coordinate positions within the EU, with

appropriate involvement of the Shipping Working Party.

Safety of Navigation

4.35 The Meeting adopted the revisions to HELCOM Recommendation 25/7 on safety of winter

navigation as included in document 4-2 (Annex 6) and agreed to keep the current Recommendation

number 25/7, important due to direct references in, i.a., the IMO Polar Code.

Sewage from Passenger ships

4.36 The Meeting emphasized the importance of reducing nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea from

ships’ sewage, and recalled the agreement in the 2013 HELCOM Copenhagen Ministerial Declaration

meaning that the Contracting Parties undertake to ensure adequate port reception facilities prior the

application dates of the Baltic Sea Special Area requirements.

4.37 The Meeting underlined the urgency to enhance the work in this regard and continue the

efforts to make certain that all relevant concerns are properly addressed and recognized the need for

continuous regional data collection and monitoring of the progress and improvements already made.

4.38 The Meeting decided to request the HELCOM Maritime Group to include necessary action

items in the existing work plan of the HELCOM Cooperation Platform on Port Reception Facilities and to

prioritize the group’s work accordingly.

4.39 The Meeting welcomed the information by Germany on organization of the International

Workshop on Port Reception Facilities for the Baltic Sea as Special Area according to MARPOL Annex IV

(PRF-Workshop) in Kiel, Germany on 30 June – 1 July 2016, to be organized by BSH in co-operation with

Port of Kiel and BPO, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building

and Nuclear Safety. The draft concept of the workshop was distributed during the Meeting and all

Contracting Parties are invited to attend the workshop.

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RESPONSE 21-2016 15-17 March 2016

Maritime traffic

3.1 The Meeting took note of the outline of the HELCOM Assessment on Maritime Activities

2016 (Maritime Assessment) (document 3-2) including the timeline of production:

- first draft to be circulated by the Secretariat in June 2016

- further elaborated draft later in the autumn

- final version ready by the end of 2016

3.2 The Meeting recalled that the Maritime Assessment will provide an overview of long-term

developments in maritime activities in the Baltic Sea as well as future prospects and possible policy

developments and that it will also use as an information source 10-year of AIS data collected in the

HELCOM AIS server.

3.3 The Meeting requested the Contracting Parties and Observers to provide feedback on the

Assessment outline and suggestions for the content to the Secretariat (hermanni.backer@helcom.fi) by 15

April.

3.4 The Meeting recalled that the data collected and used for the Assessment will also be used in

updating the GIS data available via the HELCOM map and data service.

3.5 The Meeting took note that the publishing of accident data for 2014 has been delayed due to

the development of the Maritime Assessment, that the data will be published in 2016 as part of the

Maritime Assessment process, and that a request for 2015 accident data will be issued shortly by the

Secretariat.

3.6 The Meeting took note of the Outcome of the Sixth Meeting of the HELCOM Group of

Experts on Safety of Navigation (SAFE NAV 6-2015) held on 1 October 2015 at Stockholm-Arlanda, Sweden.

The next meeting of the group (SAFE NAV 7-2016) will be held on 29 October 2016 in Denmark.

3.7 The Meeting took note that the main topic of SAFE NAV 6-2015 was draft Baltic Sea

information on Under Keel Clearance, which has resulted in a new chapter in the updated HELCOM Clean

Seas Guide 2016 to be published in due time after some pending comments on MARPOL Annex II have

been clarified.

3.8 The Meeting took note of the presentation by Mr. Robert Aps, University of Tartu, Estonian

Marine Institute, on the BONUS STORMWINDS (Strategic and operational risk management for wintertime

maritime transportation system) project (Presentation 1).

3.9 The Meeting took note of the presentation by Mr. Ojars Gerke, Latvia (Latvian Coast Guard is

one of the end users of the project), on the GEOILWATCH (Geopositional early warning system integration

for disaster prevention in the Baltic Sea) project (Presentation 2).

3.10 The Meeting took note of the information by the Secretariat that it has together with three

partners prepared a proposal with the aim to provide tools for risk assessments for regional cooperation

structures on preparedness and response to the DG ECHO call.

3.11 The Meeting took note of the information by Finland that the work of the Correspondence

Group under the HELCOM Maritime Working Group (WG) led by Finland on ship-to-ship (STS) and

bunkering activities needs more input from some Contracting Parties.

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3.12 The Meeting invited the Contracting Parties who have not provided answers to the STS

questionnaire to do so in order to make it possible for Finland to provide good input to MARITIME 16-2016

(5-9 September 2016).

3.13 The Meeting took note that Finland is preparing legislation on STS and is interested to learn

about STS experiences in neighbouring countries.

Wrecks and other submerged hazardous objects

8.1 The Meeting took note of the outcome of the Third Meeting of the HELCOM Expert Group on

Environmental Risks of Hazardous Submerged Objects (SUBMERGED 3-2015), which was held on 14-15

October 2015 in Gothenburg, Sweden (document 8-4), back-to-back with the conference “Wrecks of the

World III”. The next meeting of the group (SUBMERGED 5-2016) will be held on 12-13 April 2016 in Tallinn,

Estonia.

8.2 The Meeting recalled that according to the Terms of Reference the mandate for SUBMERGED

is for three years until end of 2016 for producing a one-off HELCOM thematic assessment on environmental

risks of hazardous submerged objects covering contaminated wrecks, lost or dumped dangerous goods (e.g.

containers), chemical munitions and other objects based on the information and data compiled and

assessed.

8.3 The Meeting took note of the SUBMERGED activities as presented in document 8-2

(Presentation 8).

8.4 The Meeting supported of the SUBMERGED work until the end of 2018, requested the

SUBMERGED Group to provide short chapters on the three SUBMERGED topics to the Secretariat

(hermanni.backer@helcom.fi) for the Maritime Assessment by end of May 2016, requested that for clarity

the Group moves from standing Chairs to rotating chairmanship depending on the topic -using the currently

identified topic leads as rotating Chairs (Chemical munitions: Mr. Jens Sternheim&Jacek Beldowski, Wrecks:

Jorma Rytkönen and Other Matters: Mr. Gunnar Möller) and urged Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia

to engage in the work of SUBMERGED.

8.5

8.6 The Meeting took note of the presentation by Finland on the two-year BONUS SWERA

(Sunken Wreck Environmental Risk Assessment) project, which will terminate in April 2016 (document 8-1,

Presentation 8).

8.7 The Meeting took note of the information that Finland and Sweden have conducted wreck

surveys to assess slicks from wrecks with potential risks and by Poland that new wrecks are being checked

for the same reason. Sweden will start looking into environmentally dangerous wrecks, Poland is working

on a national waste management plan and tackling of high risk wrecks has also been included in the

national program of measures and Estonia is preparing ratification of the Nairobi Convention.

8.8 The Meeting took note of the information by Sweden on the three year Interreg DiveSMART

Baltic project (kick-off 14 March 2016) (document 8-3). The project has focus on mapping diving

competences and resources in the Baltic Sea region (database), common training and exercises, common

guidelines and procedures, research and general exchange of experiences.

8.9 The Meeting recalled that the intensive passenger traffic in the Baltic Sea makes an accident

like Costa Concordia possible, while national diving capacity could clearly not handle such an incident, and

welcomed Sweden to keep the Response WG updated on the project.

8.10 The Meeting took note of the information on the Interreg DAIMON project (document 8-5,

Presentation 8).

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Investigation and prosecution of offenders of anti-pollution regulations

9.17 The Meeting took note of the information on the progress of revising HELCOM

Recommendation 19/14 under the lead of Denmark which will be discussed at MARITIME 16-2016 (5-9

September 2016).

Places of Refuge

10.11 The Meeting took note of the EU Operational Guidelines on Places of Refuge, which were

approved on 13 November 2015 (document 10.3-1).

10.12 The Meeting took note that the guidelines have a background in the “Flaminia” incident

when the ship had big difficulties in finding a Place of Refuge and the incident triggered a process in order

to develop an operational guideline on Places of Refuge.

10.13 The Meeting took note that Sweden is looking for ways to implement the guidelines

nationally.

HELCOM Recommendations

12.2 The Meeting took note of the information on the progress by the Chair of TG POLREP

including a proposal from the TG POLREP Chair on how an electronic POLREP system could be generated

based on the Latvian national Safe Sea Net.

12.3 The Meeting took note that Russian Federation uses POLREPs in all its sea areas and needs to

choose a way how to make submissions of HELCOM messages convenient.

12.4 The Meeting took note that sending information from the EU systems CECIS and SSN to the

Russian Federation could be explored.

12.5 The Meeting requested that the Chair of TG POLREP will send the concept paper to Response

WG contacts, that TG POLREP organises a meeting to prepare a proposal timely for RESPONSE 22-2016 and

that Contracting Parties, especially Russian Federation, contribute actively to the work.

12.6 The Meeting requested the Secretariat to examine the possibility to organise the TG POLREP

meeting back to back with MARITIME 16-2016.

12.7 The Meeting took note of the currently valid HELCOM Recommendations in the field of

Maritime and Response Working Group and the ongoing process to update them (document 12-2) and

highlighted that Recommendation 18/2 on offshore activities and 20/5 on oil terminals are in need of

revision.

SUBMERGED 4-2016 12-14 April 2016

SUBMERGED Assessment current status

2.1 The Meeting requested further information on the HOLAS II deadlines and needs

(lena.bergstrom@helcom.fi ) and expressed willingness to contribute with updated data.

2.2 The Meeting recalled that RESPONSE 21-2016 (15-17 March 2016) requested the

SUBMERGED Group to provide short chapters on the three SUBMERGED topics to the Secretariat

(hermanni.backer@helcom.fi) for the Maritime Assessment by the end of May 2016.

2.3 The Meeting took note of HELCOM Assessment activities including the HELCOM Maritime

Assessment (document 2-1) and agreed to provide available material (maps and figures) to the Secretariat

(hermanni.backer@helcom.fi) by the end of May 2016, who will, based on this or available material,

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compile a short chapter to be published as part of the Maritime Assessment and circulate it for comments

in the beginning of June.

2.4 The Meeting compiled the available material (documents 2-2, 2-3, 2-4) as document 2-5-

WP.1 and developed it in plenary as document 2-5-WP.2.

2.5 The Meeting established two drafting groups, on warfare materials and wrecks, who edited

and commented the available material further as included in Annex 5.

2.6 The Meeting considered and agreed to the material included in Annex 5 to be a starting

point for further work at the next meeting of the SUBMERGED group.

Work plan and future meetings

6.1 The Meeting recalled that RESPONSE 21-2016 (15-17 March 2016) supported the

SUBMERGED work until the end of 2018 and requested that for clarity the Group moves from standing

Chairs to rotating chairmanship depending on the topic - using the currently identified topic leads as

rotating Chairs and urged Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia to engage in the work of SUBMERGED.

6.2 The Meeting discussed how to attract the missing Contracting Parties and concluded that as

a first step the Secretariat should contact Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia on participation and also

enquire if the Russian Federation has the possibility to organize a future SUBMERGED meeting in Russia.

6.3 The Meeting discussed the lack of input in the field of dumped waste and lost cargo,

expressed a wish that more experts would be available in the future, but in the current situation strongly

requested that the SUBMERGED Assessment should focus on wrecks and warfare material.

AIS EWG 27-2016 31 May – 1 June 2016

Use of data

4.1 The Meeting welcomed the draft HELCOM guidance regarding best practices in data handling

and definitions of certain AIS data products (document 4-1-Rev.1) as presented by the Secretariat

(Presentation 4).

4.2 The Meeting took note that several Contracting Parties make density maps.

4.3 The Meeting recommended that the substance of document 4-1-Rev.1 should be developed

further to a new HELCOM Recommendation and requested the Secretariat to provide a draft for further

consideration.

4.4 The Meeting recommended that the Secretariat should organise a seminar on the use of

HELCOM AIS during the autumn 2016, which could provide input for future EU or world-wide events on the

use of AIS data.

Access to HELCOM AIS

4.5 The Meeting considered the revision of HELCOM Recommendation 33/1 “Unified

interpretation in relation to access to and use of HELCOM AIS” (document 4-2); revision of Appendix 1 to

allow access to the Baltic AIS data to cover also projects not falling under the uses specified in the

Appendix, and revision of Appendix 2 to correspond to the new hosting arrangements (c.f. Paragraph 5.14).

4.6 The Meeting recalled that Denmark, Norway and Finland have made decisions to open up

AIS data to the general public, inter alia, in order to stimulate new business opportunities.

4.7 The Meeting took note that Estonia and Lithuania have also made steps to make data more

easily available and that in Russia AIS data is shared increasingly between authorities.

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4.8 The Meeting was of the opinion that such developments should be reflected in the revision

of Appendix 1 of HELCOM Recommendation 33/1 regarding the use of, and access to, HELCOM AIS data.

4.9 The Meeting invited the Secretariat to provide proposals to revise Appendix 2 of the

Recommendation according to the outcome of discussions on hosting of the HELCOM AIS server.

4.10 The Meeting discussed and commented the first draft data model and service type

specification for historical AIS data provided by Finland (document 4-3, Annexes A and B).

4.11 The Meeting took note of the comment by the Chair that a harmonized query

specification/language would be useful to define but the delivery/answer of data queries would perhaps be

better to be done as NMEA sentences including comment block, and not in processed form (e.g. CSV) as

suggested in the document.

Hosting of HELCOM AIS Server

5.1 The Meeting took note of the information by Denmark on the Danish decision to discontinue

the agreement with HELCOM on hosting the HELCOM AIS server and user interface with effect 1 January

2017 (document 5-1).

5.2 The Meeting thanked Denmark for the contributions made over the last decade to the

HELCOM AIS network.

5.3 All the Delegations present agreed that the regional HELCOM AIS service is both used and

highly needed and should be continued.

5.4 The Meeting considered the minimum requirements of the HELCOM AIS network for a future

host and for clarity drafted a list of minimum and additional functions as follows:

MINIMUM (functions provided by host):

Providing sharing of joint, real time of live data stream between members of the network with the

needed processing (Removing duplicates)

Sufficient reliability of live data stream service 24/7.

Compiling and storing historic data from live data stream and enabling retrieval.

ADDITIONAL (functions to be implemented by interested CPs/ Secretariat):

Statistics

Web-based clients

Monitoring the quality of data

Extensive historic databases

5.5 The Meeting agreed to the minimum requirements from EMSA in order that the regional

server should be considered to be a component of the central SSN system:

Collection, storage, back-up and re-distribution as well as monitoring the availability and quality of

the data.

Furthermore, the server shall comply with the security and reliability requirements of the SSN

system and relay AIS data from the national SSN systems of the EU Member States to the central

SSN system.

5.6 The Meeting discussed different options for hosting arrangements of the HELCOM AIS

network and resulting historic data based on the identified priorities.

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5.7 The Meeting took note that Norway (Kystverket) was ready to host the HELCOM AIS

network. In addition, Gatehouse provided an offer presented by the Chair and Russia informed they might

ask further in the Federal Marine Agency for national possibilities of hosting the AIS network.

5.8 The Meeting took note of the reply by Finland to the DMA announcement (document 5-2)

and noted the Finnish support for the suggestion to ask the HELCOM Secretariat to take over the

maintenance of HELCOM network and the related services.

5.9 The Meeting took note that several Contracting Parties supported the general idea that the

HELCOM AIS would be hosted by a non-state entity including the HELCOM Secretariat.

5.10 Estonia extended gratitude to the Danish Maritime Administration and supported the

proposal for the HELCOM Secretariat to take over the management and maintenance of HELCOM AIS

services.

5.11 The Meeting took note of the information from the Secretariat that it would be possible for

the Secretariat to maintain the HELCOM AIS in the future as the competence of the Secretariat in AIS is

growing but it would likely require a longer preparatory period to gather resources and get necessary

decisions from HELCOM HOD.

5.12 The Meeting took note of the information from EMSA that HELCOM is one of four regional

centres providing AIS data to EMSA and agreed that as a priority the flow of AIS data should continue and

should not be risked.

5.13 The Meeting noted that while the involvement of a commercial operator like Gatehouse

could have its benefits it would have to be, for EMSA and HELCOM purposes, tied to a public body like the

HELCOM Secretariat or a national agency, and would require public tendering as well as corresponding

special contributions to the HELCOM budget or to a national institution.

5.14 The Meeting took note of the information from the Secretariat that a similar funding scheme

as the one to be applied in the case of a commercial operator was recently attempted for the HELCOM STW

but did not succeed due to administrative difficulties.

5.15 The Meeting welcomed the offer from Norway to host HELCOM AIS based on the minimum

requirements and decided to recommend to HELCOM HOD that the Secretariat and the Contracting Parties

would take the necessary steps to move the HELCOM AIS services from Denmark (DMA) to Norway

(Kystverket) before the end of 2016.

5.16 The Meeting requested that a meeting should be arranged between Norway, Denmark,

EMSA and the HELCOM Secretariat close to the migration of the hosting of HELCOM AIS.

Future work and meetings

8.1 The Meeting recalled that HELCOM AIS EWG 25-2014 elected Mr. Marek Dziewicki, Poland,

as Vice-Chair of HELCOM AIS EWG for the period 2015-2016 and Mr. Omar Eriksson, Denmark, as Chair of

HELCOM AIS EWG for the period 2014-2017.

8.2 The Meeting re-elected Mr. Marek Dziewicki, Poland, as Vice-Chair of HELCOM AIS EWG for

the period 2017-2019 and congratulated him for the election.

8.3 The Meeting regretted that due to the recent restructuring at DMA, Mr. Omar Eriksson

would not be available as Chair of HELCOM AIS EWG and thanked him for the work as EWG Chair during AIS

EWG 26-2015 and AIS EWG 27-2016.

8.4 The Meeting discussed the chairmanship of the EWG, took note that administrational

restructuring put some limitations to the involvement of the Vice-Chair and agreed that a Chair of HELCOM

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AIS EWG would be needed and invited the Secretariat to investigate on chairing possibilities of the

Contracting Parties intersessionally.

8.5 The Meeting agreed to arrange the next meeting of AIS EWG in Stockholm or Malmö,

Sweden, on 7-8 June 2017.

8.6 The Meeting agreed that if an extra meeting would be needed for the migration of the AIS

server, the Secretariat is invited to call for such a meeting during autumn 2016.

HOD 50-2016 15-16 June 2016

Shipping

4.17 The Meeting approved the final Baltic Sea NOx Emission Control Area application and the

related INF. document on NOx reducing technology (documents 4-12-Rev.1 and 4-12-Rev.2) and decided

that they will be submitted to the 70th session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (IMO

MEPC 70) for consideration.

4.18 The Meeting mandated Finland to make the necessary editorial amendments to the NECA

documents (documents 4-12-Rev.1 and 4-12-Rev.2) and to submit them on behalf of the Baltic Sea

countries to the MEPC 70 Meeting on 1 July 2016 at the latest, to be considered simultaneously with the

NECA submission by the North Sea countries.

4.19 The Meeting expressed appreciation to the lead country Finland for drafting and updating

the NECA application documents, Denmark and the Russian Federation for organising the NECA workshops

during spring 2016 and the remaining Contracting Parties for a constructive approach during the process.

4.20 The Meeting took note that Russia expressed its satisfaction that the INF document (4-12-

Rev.2) includes text which indicates the need to continue improving the related technology and underlined

the importance of all Contracting Parties to be actively involved and participate in workshops and other

activities within the framework of HELCOM.

4.21 The Meeting took note of the comment by Estonia that there is a need for enhanced

dialogue with the industry especially within the Maritime Group as a Baltic Sea NECA will result in

additional costs (capital and operational costs) and that there is a need to continue improving Exhaust Gas

Recirculation (EGR) technology to ensure that NOx removed from exhaust gases is not discharged to the

sea.

4.22 The Meeting took note that the NECA Roadmap will have been completed after the

submission of the NECA documents to IMO by 1 July 2016.

4.23 The Meeting welcomed the outcome of MEPC 69 that the Baltic Sea Special Area regulations

under MARPOL Annex IV will be applied on or after 1 June 2021 for existing IMO-registered passenger ships

(document 4-24). For new passenger ships, the regulations come into effect on or after 1 June 2019. For

direct passages between St. Petersburg and the North Sea, there is an extension until 1 June 2023.

4.24 The Meeting thanked Sweden for leading the work on designation of the Baltic Sea as

sewage control area and Ms. Anna Petersson, the Chair of HELCOM MARITIME, for facilitating the process

which enabled support from all Baltic Sea coastal countries.

4.25 The Meeting recalled that MARITIME 16-2016 will consider and revise the work plan of the

HELCOM Cooperation Platform on Port Reception Facilities (PRF).

4.26 The Meeting took note of the information on CLIA Simulation Exercise: wastewater

discharges in the Baltic Sea (document 4-21).

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4.27 The Meeting highlighted that practical experiences on the PRF facilities in the region are

highly valuable and invited ports to provide similar information.

4.28 The Meeting took note of the Provisional Agenda for the International Workshop on Port

Reception Facilities for the Baltic Sea as Special Area according to MARPOL Annex IV, to be held in Kiel,

Germany, 30 June – 1 July 2016 (document 4-29) and appreciated the initiative by Germany. All Contracting

Parties are welcome to participate and are invited to provide input to the workshop.

4.29 The Meeting considered a new hosting arrangement for the regional HELCOM AIS (document

4-22-Rev.1), taking note that all Contracting Parties present at AIS EWG 27-2016 meeting agreed that the

regional HELCOM AIS service is both used and highly needed and should be continued.

4.30 The Meeting took note that the change in hosting by Norway does not create any direct

fees/ costs to the Contracting Parties.

4.31 The Meeting noted that the new hosting solution does not cover services for generation of

statistics and that this function will require that the Secretariat collects resources from EU projects or

similar sources.

4.32 The Meeting took note that the relocation of the HELCOM AIS system is not linked to any

renegotiation of the existing AIS Agreement and that HELCOM Recommendation 33/1 has to be updated to

reflect the migration of hosting.

4.33 The Meeting took note that nearly 1/3 of the actions included in the Roadmap for HELCOM

activities on ecosystem approach are depending on or benefiting from HELCOM AIS data.

4.34 The Meeting decided, according to recommendation by AIS EWG 27-2016, to move the

HELCOM AIS services from Denmark (DMA) to Norway (Kystverket) before the end of 2016, in order to

avoid breaks in the service.

4.35 The Meeting took note that all Baltic Sea EU member states are providing AIS information to

EMSA via the HELCOM AIS, and that hosting by Norway would ensure the continuation of this service.

4.36 The Meeting invited the Secretariat and the Contracting Parties to take the necessary steps

for the migration of the hosting of HELCOM AIS, including arranging a meeting between the Secretariat,

Norway, Denmark and EMSA.

HELCOM institutional and organisational matters

5.1 The Meeting took note of the information by Chair that following HOD 49-2015 decision, the

intersessional exchange of views took place among the Heads of Delegation on the status of HELCOM’s

streamlining regarding

1) many and bulky meeting documents, 2) how to revitalize the Commission meetings, 3) how to attract

high political interest and 4) implementation of HELCOM commitments.

5.2 Regarding the first topic the Chair concluded that progress is being made, for instance,

regarding the structure and more timely submission of documents, and that practical ideas for further

improvement were proposed.