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The implementation of actions within the maritime segment of the Baltic Sea Action Plan in the Russian Federation was the primary focus of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) Stakeholder Workshop which was held on 21st November 2008 in St. Petersburg.

The Workshop was hosted by Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy and organized jointly by the Academy, Information Offices of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, the Saint-Petersburg Port Maritime Authority and the HELCOM Secretariat.

Participants included officials from the government agencies, local authorities, representatives of the maritime administrations, port authorities, scientific and business communities, regional organizations and NGO’s from Russia, as well as from Estonia, Finland and Poland.

“The aim of the workshop was to facilitate national implementation of the maritime and response actions agreed within the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and to involve all interested stakeholders in realization of the agreed measures,” said Monika Stankiewicz, Professional Secretary on maritime and response issues at HELCOM.

Following a series of presentations, participants of the workshop discussed new IMO regulations on prevention of air pollution from ships and the use of economic incentives in Russian ports.

Additionally, participants discussed measures related to response to oil pollution, including the enhanced cooperation on places of refuge, the role of the municipal authorities in shoreline response, as well as the new project “Sub-regional risk of spill of oil and hazardous substances in the Baltic Sea” (BRISK).

The St Petersburg workshop was the third Baltic Sea Action Plan Stakeholder Workshop to be held in the Russian Federation. The previous two were both held this year in Kaliningrad and focused on the implementation of the eutrophication and biodiversity segments, as well as the response to accidents at sea.

“The regional/national workshops enhance the elaboration of national projects and the development of prioritised list of actions and help increase awareness of the strategic Baltic Sea Action Plan to reduce pollution to the sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021,” said Stankiewicz.