The European Green Deal (EGD) adopted in December 2019 seeks to facilitate the transition of the EU towards a climate-neutral continent and a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy by 2050. In addition to a set of objectives, it is also a policy program that will affect the policy landscape, by driving the development of new directives and regulation, and the amendment of existing ones. In order to facilitate a transition of EU society to better protect the marine environment, decision making and implementation processes within marine governance will need to be improved to develop and implement measures through which EGD marine protection objectives will be achieved.
The Horizon Europe PERMAGOV project aims to improve the implementation and performance of EU marine policies to reach the goals set in the EGD. The PERMAGOV project focuses on four issue areas, so-called regime complexes: Maritime Transport, Marine Energy, Marine Life and Marine Plastics. Within each regime complex, 2 to 3 case studies are used to explore and analyse how governance arrangements are emerging and changing and improving their performance through the EGD. These case studies span three European Seas, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the North East Atlantic.
The paper outlines a rational design procedure for bridge piers and pylons against ship collision impacts. Firstly, a set of risk acceptance criteria are proposed. This is followed by a mathematically based procedure for calculation of the probability of critical ship meeting situations near the bridge, and the probability of ship collision accidents caused by human errors as well as technical errors. This first part of the paper leads to identification of the largest striking ship, “design vessels”, a given bridge pier must withstand without structural failure in order for the bridge connection to fulfil the risk acceptance criteria. The final part of the paper is devoted to an analysis of the needed impact capacity for the bridge pylons and piers exposed to ship bow impact loads from these “design vessels”. For a number of different ship types and different tonnage merchant vessels, load – displacement relations for ship bow collisions against rigid walls are derived. Based on these comprehensive numerical results, a new empirical relation is derived which is suited for design against bow collisions. This expression for maximum bow collision forces is compared with a previously published expression for ice-strengthened ships and with existing standards for assessment of bow crushing forces. It is shown that there is need for an update of these existing standards. For design of piers and pylons against local impact pressure loads, a pressure - area relation for bulbous bow impacts is derived.
Successful maritime spatial planning processes require stakeholder engagement and participation, thus requiring tools that support collaboration. Communication-driven spatial decision support systems are designed to facilitate decision making processes of complex spatial problems and are therefore suited for this task, but there are unresolved questions about user access control for these systems. In this study, user access control was designed for a spatial decisions support system for collaborative maritime spatial planning based on observation of two user tests. It was found that there were three distinct groups of users with special access needs to collaborative functionality. The level of access to functionality was organized into three groups: passive participants, actively contributing collaborators and managing moderators.
The International Maritime Organization employs technical and operational indicators to assess ship energy efficiency. Weather conditions significantly impact ship fuel consumption during voyages, necessitating the consideration of this influence in energy efficiency calculations. This study aims to design models for estimating the impact of weather components on fuel consumption and develop correction factors to cope with the weather effect on the fuel consumption of container ships for different sea states. Using model-based machine learning, the study analyzes noon reports and hindcasted weather data from two sister container ships. It quantifies weather-induced fuel consumption across various sea states, ranging from 2% to 20%, with an average of 7%–13% depending on the model used. Correction factors specific to each sea state are derived, and different approaches for their integration into energy efficiency indicators are proposed. This study advocates tailored weather correction factors for energy efficiency metrics tied to specific sea states, emphasizing the need for standardized weather impact assessments. Prior to any formal policy application, future work is needed to address the limitations of the present study and extend this approach to various ship types and sizes and different geographical regions.
Infrastructure-led development is driving geopolitical agendas in the Global South, and Djibouti is a case in point. Strategically situated in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti's seaports and related infrastructure have been modernized through foreign investments to serve international trade and growing African hinterlands. Scholarship often posits foreign logistics investors as hegemons driven by geopolitical interests, and host states as passive recipients. This paper questions such claims. It examines the relationship between "hegemon" and "host state" from the perspective of the latter, in this case the Djibouti government's interactions with Emirati and Chinese infrastructure companies. Methodologically, the analysis is based on interviews, secondary data and document analysis. It applies a conflict-sensitive controversies approach from critical logistics studies to trace contestation over authority in Djibouti's logistics sector. It shows how Djibouti's government applies various strategies (discursive, legal and political) to exercise agency in its logistics sector. The paper concludes that the geopolitics of infrastructure-led development is a reciprocal effort that goes beyond conventional logics of hegemons imposing on host states.
This report is in the context of the DMA-DTU project on Market Based Measures (MBMs) The aim of this project is to provide an overview and discussion of potential Market Based Measures under the Initial IMO Strategy for the reduction of green house gas (GHG) emissions from ships. In this context, some related developments are also seen as directly relevant to the scope of the project, mainly in the context of the possible inclusion of shipping into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). In 2010 an Expert Group was appointed by the IMO’s Secretary General after solicitation of member states and was tasked to evaluate as many as eleven (11) separate MBM proposals, submitted by various member states and other organizations. All MBM proposals described programs and procedures that would target GHG reductions through either ‘in-sector’ emissions reductions from shipping, or ‘out-of-sector’ reductions via the collection of funds to be used for mitigation activities in other sectors that would contribute towards global reduction of GHG emissions.
This report analyses recent productivity developments in some of the main capture fisheries in Europe. Using data on specific fleet segments, productivity growth has been compared
between demersal fisheries in the UK, Spain, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and pelagic fisheries in the UK, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Knowledge of ecosystem services (ES) and the benefits provided by offshore marine areas, including the welfare impacts from the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is still limited. In the present study we evaluated benefits from ES, citizens' willingness-to-pay for potential changes in the provision of ES, and welfare losses to citizens due to restrictions on economic activities from establishing new offshore MPAs in Latvian waters. The scenarios for the economic valuation were based on analyzing the supply of ES from the protected marine habitats, showing changes in the ES supply in policy relevant scenarios of the MPA size. Our study evaluates a wide array of ES delivered by offshore protected habitats and reveals that citizens' willingness-to-pay for preserving habitats and ES supply exceeds their welfare losses from restrictions in economic activities. Our approach supports the prioritization of habitat types according to their contribution to ES supply and benefits for citizens. The analysis can be complemented with spatial data regarding the distribution of habitats, providing an opportunity to identify areas with the highest ES benefits to support marine protection and spatial planning.
Maritime shipping is regarded as the most efficient mode of transport; however, its contribution to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and the health issues related to shipping activity near residential centers cannot be neglected. In recent years, the efforts of regulators, ship operators, and port authorities have led to actions for ship emissions reduction to improve shipping's environmental performance. This work builds on an activity-based methodology that allows the estimation of emissions and examines environmental effects of slow steaming, fuel regulations, near-port speed-reduction schemes, and cold ironing. Pollutant emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and black carbon are modeled. A linear programming model minimizes fuel consumption through speed differentiation on a shipping line's routes based on fuel costs and binding regulations in each segment of the journey. Although the examined emissions-reduction actions may have a positive regional environmental effect by cutting emissions, it is possible that additional emissions are generated elsewhere because of increased sailing speeds beyond regulated areas. Trade-offs between pollutants are observed for reduction actions that may have a positive effect on some emission species but at the same time result in additional particulate matter and black carbon emissions. The presented framework allows key actors to conduct comprehensive studies and design improved emissions reduction actions with fewer negative impacts in other areas.
Ocean acidification (OA) is a global problem with profoundly negative environmental, social and economic consequences. From a governance perspective, there is a
need to ensure a coordinated effort to directly address it. This study reviews 90 legislative documents from 17 countries from the European Economic Area (EEA) and
the UK that primarily border the sea. The primary finding from this study is that the European national policies and legislation addressing OA is at best uncoordinated. Although OA is acknowledged at the higher levels of governance, its status as an environmental challenge is greatly diluted at the European Union Member
State level. As a notable exception within the EEA, Norway seems to have a proactive approach towards legislative frameworks and research aimed towards further
understanding OA. On the other hand, there was a complete lack of, or inadequate reporting in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by the majority of the EU
Member States, with the exception of Italy and the Netherlands. We argue that the problems associated with OA and the solutions needed to address it are unique and
cannot be bundled together with traditional climate change responses and measures. Therefore, European OA-related policy and legislation must reflect this and
tailor their actions to mitigate OA to safeguard marine ecosystems and societies. A stronger and more coordinated approach is needed to build environmental,
economic and social resilience of the observed and anticipated changes to the coastal marine systems.