The Baltic Sea Forum (BSF) launched the Baltic Sea Clean Maritime (BSCM) Award in 2013 in cooperation with the EU project InnoShip and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL). The Award has been created to support innovative and environmental friendly approaches and ideas in the Baltic Sea and to provide a platform for transparency, knowledge exchange and implementation measures. Accordingly, the award aims to promote approaches and ideas that meet the following criteria:
- reduce and prevent emissions caused by shipping and port operations in the Baltic Sea Region,
- reconcile the different interests and needs within the Baltic maritime sector in order to foster a more environmental-friendly maritime sector,
- coordinate efforts to make the Baltic Sea a model area for clean and competitive shipping in Europe,
- contributing to a coherent maritime spatial planning covering the different activities in the maritime sector
The winners of the Baltic Sea Clean Maritime Award 2017 are:
Category 1: Infrastructure
Blue Baltics – LNG infrastructure facility deployment in the Baltic Sea Region
Lead partner from Lithuania
Blue Baltics provides investment into LNG infrastructure & mobile equipment in Lithuania, Sweden and Estonia making available LNG as fuel for maritime and road transport. The aim is to establish a LNG infrastructure and offering bunkering activities across the Baltic Sea. Such a harmonized approach contributes to the sustainable development of the LNG market and helps to remove arisen bottlenecks.
GREEN CRUISE PORT - Sustainable Development of Cruise Port Locations (GCP)
Lead partner from Germany
GREEN CRUISE PORT aims to elaborate a multidimensional strategic approach for a sustainable and qualitative future development for cruise shipping in port areas. Cruise ports are the essential links and passenger transport nodes which are mainly a "national" challenge. They have to be coordinated and further developed on a transnational basis.
GREEN CRUISE PORT will encourage investments and procedures for an environmentally friendly cruise port infra- and superstructure in the BSR as well as in smart traffic links to the public transport and supply systems.
VG EcoCoaster
Finland
The fundament of design on EcoCoasters has been to minimize environmental strain, with various environmentally friendly solutions adapted into shipbuilding process.
Category 2: Technology and Innovation
Zero Emission Ferries - A green link across the Öresund
Denmark & Sweden
The Action covers the introduction of new and innovative concepts and technology by converting two existing complex RoPax ships - originally driven by marine gasoil - to plug-in all electric powered operation using Exclusively batteries. The Action will upgrade environmentally a very busy maritime link, connecting the comprehensive TEN-T network ports of Helsingör (Denmark) and Helsingborg (Sweden). In conjunction with the ship fitting, the required power provision and charging installations in the ports/ferry terminals will be realized. Both ferry terminals are located in densely populated areas, so the Action contributes to significant improvements of air quality. The project supports the development of clean Motorways of the Sea by testing and deploying new technological solutions in real operational conditions.
LNG Value Chain for Clean Shipping, Green Ports & Blue Growth in Baltic Sea Region (Go LNG)
Lead partner from Lithuania
The Go LNG project is focused on developing LNG infrastructure and increasing LNG accessibility in the countries of the Baltic Sea region.
In order to reduce current price of LNG, to increase accessibility of this fuel this and to create an investment-friendly environment, the project provides the extension of the value chain by attracting new LNG customers.
A comprehensive and forward-looking strategy for the development of LNG sector, which includes the concept of a “blue corridor”, strengthening the LNG value chain and business partnerships, and exchanging knowledge and experience in the Baltic Sea region is being developed within the project’s framework. The value chain of liquefied biogas (LBG) is under development and the identification of potential business models will be of service to the sustainability of the LNG infrastructure and to economic growth in the communal context of the region.
LNG in Baltic Sea Ports II
Lead partner from Sweden
The project builds on and at the same time is an extension of the well-established TEN-T project “LNG in the Baltic Sea Ports”. As such, it will contribute to achieving the results of the global project "Development of the LNG bunkering network in the seaports of the Baltic Sea region" as an element of the Baltic Motorways of the Sea programme.
Adding the partners of the succeeding BPO initiative to the seven ports from the ongoing TEN-T project- LNG in the Baltic Sea ports will result in the establishment of an extensive network of ports with planned facilities for LNG bunkering in the Baltic region (in total 9 of 22 Baltic Core ports and 2 comprehensive ports). This on its own will be a significant achievement in meeting the future clean shipping strategy in the Baltic Sea Region and in EU.
Special Category: Innovation & Science
MARELITT Baltic (Reducing the impact of marine litter in the form of derelict fishing gear on the Baltic Sea environment)
Lead partner from Sweden
Main objective of the project is to initiate, motivate and strengthen the capacity to work and mitigate the derelict fishing gear (DFG) problem among the counties in the Baltic Sea region. In March 2016 only 4 out of 9 countries in the region worked actively with the adressed problem. All these four countries (Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden) are today part of MARELITT Baltic. Just one month after the start date of implementation, Finland announced its interest to join the work using national financing.
EE-Baltic
Germany
The project provides a knowledge base and increases the awareness and strategic capacity of maritime actors to lift the potentials of Baltic ports as contributors to reduced environmental impact of shipping as transport option. The project implements new knowledge in concrete pilot activities developing and implementing energy efficiency measures in Baltic ports and terminals.
Back from Black - Study and deployment of the affordable scrubber retro fitting technology for SME shipowners
Germany & Finland
The aim of the Back from Black project is to create, demonstrate, deploy and disseminate an economic and environmentally viable technology which will help shipowners to comply the new sulphur regulations. This will increase the know-how and co-operation of the European shipbuilding industry thus ensuring sufficient supply of the true hybrid scrubber.
The awards were given out by Baltic Sea Forum.
Photos and text by Paulina Szmidka, partner of "Let's communicate" project.