Knowledge Platform

Overview
D. Jarvis - CETLE

In order to facilitate more effective support for safety and security it is envisaged that coastal States will require strengthening their capabilities for the following key elements:

a.  The ability to provide pro-active vessel traffic management to ships not only in their Territorial Sea but beyond and through into the boundaries of their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ);
b.  A structured and harmonized co-operation between the Member States and exchange of information between Member States and the involvement of a more effective SafeSeaNet (SSN), also with respect to incidents and accidents;
c.  The approach to cover all public interests with respect to maritime traffic and transport.
 
To this end it is required to consider, through innovative use of resources and technologies, the ability for shore-based operators to be able to monitor and provide the appropriate level of assistance wherever the ship may be located in the coastal waters, shifting the emphasis from remedial services towards proactive services.
 
Safety and security capabilities need to address the development of efficient ways for mandatory reporting. Adopting the concept of national Single Windows for all member States will not only impact the manner in which data is reported to the authorities but also the way in which this data is distributed and made available to the various authorities, these being not only the “traditional” maritime authorities but also authorities such as customs, immigration and health.
 
Concepts such as Maritime Operational Services and Maritime Information Management rely to a great extent on the cooperation of various authorities, not only maritime, all with a vested interest in improving maritime safety, security, efficiency and protection of the environment.

Previous research and initiatives focussing on (and depending on) pan-European cooperation and harmonisation between maritime (and other) authorities of the member States have often been confronted with the (perceived) differences in organisational structures and allocation of responsibilities.

To this end this study provides examples of what appears on the outside as variance between member States however on closer examination similar through the conduct of the same or similar roles, tasks and responsibilities. based the architecture, as developed in the ARKTRANS project and implemented for both the FREIGHTWISE and MarNIS projects, this study demonstrates an approach which could lead to minimum disruption for existing organisational models and demonstrate synergies between the maritime traffic and transport sectors.