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At a Heads of Delegation meeting in Laulasmaa, Estonia, last week, The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) took a further step in making the Baltic Sea region cleaner when an application was submitted to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to make the Baltic Sea a NOx Emission Control Area (NECA).

HELCOM is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

The Baltic Sea NECA application will be submitted in parallel to a similar NECA document from the North Sea countries - the objective being to create two neighbouring NECA areas with identical environmental requirements.

The final decision on whether the Baltic Sea becomes a NECA is in the hands of the IMO. According to estimates, the introduction of a Baltic Sea NECA has the potential to reduce the annual nitrogen input by about 7 kilotons in the area.

In addition to the NECA application, delegates green-lit the launching of a public online follow up system - HELCOM Explorer - for reviewing the progress towards the commission's commitments and the publishing of a new assessment on pharmaceuticals.

Delegates also agreed to change the location of the hosting of data on ships' movement in the Baltic via the HELCOM Automatic Identification System (AIS) network. It is scheduled to move from Denmark to Norway by the end of the year. HELCOM AIS provides information to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) on all Baltic Sea countries who are EU member states and the move to Norway "will ensure the continuation of this service", HELCOM said.

Two guidelines relating to Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) were also approved by participants - the first relating to guidelines on transboundary consultations, public participation and co-operation; and the second for the implementation of ecosystem-based approach in MSP in the Baltic Sea area.

The meeting marked the end of Estonia's two-year Chairmanship of HELCOM, which now passes to the European Union. Reflections on the accomplishments of HELCOM in relation to the priorities of the Estonian Chairmanship were presented in the meeting and are due to be published shortly.

Image credit: Manuel Frias