The entrances to the Baltic – their limitations and effect on the transport of oil, safety and environmental concerns

by

Christian Breinholt

at

GOING SIF

International oil trading and transportation Conference

Moscow 30-31 March 2006

The Sound

Distance (Skaw – Bornholm) approx. 250 nautical miles

Maximum draft: 7.7 meters

Traffic separation scheme: Between Helsingør and Helsingborg off Falsterbo

The Great Belt – Route T:Distance (Skaw – Bornholm approx. 370 nautical miles

Maximum draft: 15.0 meters

Deep water routes: Hatter Barn

Belt off Langeland

North east of the Kadetrenne

Traffic separation Scheme: Hatter Barn

Between Korsør and Sprogø

South of Gedser

Reporting system: SHIPPOS

Great Belt Traffic

VTS: Great Belt Traffic

The Sound2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Passages 40,046 37,806 37,648 38,902 39,466 35,745Dwt (mio) 268 216 234 237 256 268Average Dwt

6,702 5,718 6,223 6,095 6,474 7,511

The Sound - all passages – all ship types

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Passages 5,205 5,191 5,423 5,713 5,577 5,421Dwt. (mio) 51 46 59 61 71 79Average Dwt

9,824 8,9 10,848 10,615 12,693 14,541

• In general fewer passages but larger ships

• A dramatic increase in size of tanker passages

The Great Belt

Dead weight tonnage

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Tanker passages

5,166 5,166 5,17 5,509 5,876 6,076

Dwt.* (mio) 149 165 187 210 263 296Average dwt.* a passage

28,904 31,983 36,155 38,147 44,682 48,742

Table 2 – passages of tankers at VTS Great Belt

• In general an increase in the size of ships

• A dramatic increase in size and number of tanker passages

The major limitations for tranport of oil are

• A maximum draft of 15.0 m in route T (equivalent to about

105,000 DWt.)

The characteristics are

• Increased traffic density• Strong sea current, shallow depth, sharp turns, coming traffic, head-on-situations

The effect is:

• Extensive and growing volumes of ship-to-ship operations

• Groundings

• Collisions

• Increasing traffic of large oil tankers will lead to a need for allocating timeslots for passage of Hatter Barn and Agersø Flak

Number and volume of Ship to Ship transfer in Danish waters

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Number 10* 20* 30* 57 52Volume (million tonnes) 3.2 3.2* Estimated

2005 distribution on locations

Off Frederikshavn In the bay of Kalundborg ElsewhereNumber of transfers 32 18 2Volume (million tonnes) 2.8 0,4 0,02

10

Admiral Danish FleetCivilian tasks

AARHUS:Admiral Danish Fleet

CIVILIAN TASKS:• MAS• JRCC• MARITIME INVIRONMENT• OIL SPILL RESPONSE• AERIAL AND SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE• MARITIME SECURITY• ICEBREAKING • VTS

KORSOER:• VTS

Groundings and collisions in the Great Belt

from

1 January 1997 to 1 July 2005

8 years and 6 months

Delimitation of the area

Facts on collisions

0

1

2

3

1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Number

13 collisions

Weather conditions

Wind and current have not been mentioned as a contributing factor at any of the collisions

Visibility

• 2 collisions occurred in dense fog (visibility under 0.25 nm)

• 2 collisions occurred in limited visibility (0.5-2 nm)

• 2 collisions occurred in moderate visibility (2-5 nm)

• 4 collisions occurred in good visibility (over 5nm)

There is no information on the last 3 collisions

Size and type of the shipGross tonnage of the ships

0 – 99 5

100 – 499 2

500 – 3000 3

3000 – 10,000 3

10,000 – 50,000 7

Over 50,000 2

Total 22

GT of navy vessels and pleasure crafts are not known

Tanker 3

Bulk carrier 2

Ro-ro cargo ship 2

Container ship 2

General cargo ship 3

Reefer ship 1

Passengership 2

Fishing vessel 5

Pleasure craft 3

Other 3

Total 26

Size and type of the shipShip types

Consequences

• None of the 13 collisions resulted in oil pollution• The cargo ships involved in collisions in October 2004 and May

2005 got considerable indents and was detained after the collisions

• Three of the fishing vessels sank• One fisherman died when the fishing vessel sank after the

collision• Two crewmembers on a pleasure craft died when the craft was

sailed down by a coaster

Damage on a container ship after a collision

012345

6789

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Number

Facts on groundings

Red: Collisions

Green: Groundings

Where do the groundings occur?

Leveret

Hatter

Resolution MSC.138(76) on recommendation through the entrances to the Baltic Sea entered into force on 1 December 2003

On ships with draught of 11 m or more

On ships carrying shipment of irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high-level radioactive wastes

- when following the established routing system through the entrances to the Baltic Sea (Route T)

The resolution recommends use of pilot:

None of the ships involved in the 46 groundings had a pilot on board

• The ship was penetrated over a length of 40 m of the bottom

• The oil polluted the coast over a long distance

• More than 4,000 seabirds died or had to be put down

The latest oil pollution in the Great Belt took place in January 2005

A pollution response vessel is sent to the scene and remain standby until the grounded ship has been set afloat and there is no longer any risk for pollution.

The ships await the authorisation of the authorities before it may be set afloat or continue its journey.

The Danish authorities detain all grounded ships until it is considered safe for the ships to proceed.

It is often necessary to lighter the ship before tugboats set it afloat.

Lightering of a grounded ship lasts up to one week.

The maximum period of time that a ship grounded in the Great Belt had to wait before it was set afloat was 30 days.

Typically, it is the relevant classification soceity which on behalf of the flag state – sets out the criteria for the ship’s further navigation.

Off-hire loss USD 1,450,000

Repair expenses USD 1,000,000

Salvage expenses USD 350,000

Environmental protection USD 30,000

Total USD 2,830,000

Estimated costs of the grounding that took place during last year’s MARE FORUM in St. Petersburg

• The Great Belt is part of the Baltic Sea, which is recognised by the IMO as a particularly sensitive area, highly vulnerable to oil pollution

• There is a high political and public attention on the risk of groundings in the Danish waters, particularly in the narrow straits including the Great Belt

• Further groundings will continue to fuel the negative image that the public has of the shipping industry

Conclusion

Not taking a pilot in accordance with Resolution MSC.138(76) on recommendation on navigation through the entrances to the Baltic Sea is:

• a repellent exploitation of a legal regime established long before any one could imagine the type and size of cargo of today

• detrimental to our common goals on safety and protection of the environment

• and very bad business

Conclusion – continued

October 2005:

DMA produced an information paper showing that the grounded ship could have taken pilot more than 375 times for the amount spent on the grounding

The information paper was sent to relevant partners of the shipping industry

Strongly advising large ships always to take pilot on their way in and out of the Baltic Sea, and as minimum, to follow Resolution MSC.138(76) on recommendation through the entrances to the Baltic Sea

November 2005:

The paper was submitted to the 24th session of the IMO Assembly

December 2005:

INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO and the Danish authorities decided to establish the Joint Pilotage User Group (JPUG)

May 2006:

The JPUG will be established with participation of DMA, RDANH, INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO,

BIMCO, ICS and OCIMF

www.dma.dk

Safety Study:

Groundings and Collisions in the Great Belt 1997 - 2005

can be downloaded from the DMA’s homepage under Casualty Investigation – Safety Studies

Grounding of ELETHERIA, Grounding of ELETHERIA, Panama flag, Panama flag,

on 5 June 2005on 5 June 2005

1 2

34

Collision between German Arngast and ATLANTIC, Marshall Islands, on 4 August 2005

ATLANTIC

ARNGAST

Grounding of EVER MIGHTY, Panama flag, on 11 November 2005

Collision between VERTIGO, Jamaica flag, andZIEMIA LODZKA, Liberia flag on 7 December 2005