International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 3

Number 3

September 2009

261

1 INTRODUCTION

Marine navigation has been practised by man for ag-

es. In particular phases of civilisation’s development

more and more new forms of human activity at sea

have appeared. Fishery, the conduct of submarine

cables and pipelines, excavation of natural resources

from under the sea bottom, last but not least the con-

struction of artificial islands and wind farms are only

the chief activities conducted currently by man at

sea.

The undertaking of new initiatives at sea by man

and increasing their scope makes it necessary to or-

der them in long-term perspective lest their mutual

interaction should cause conflicts. This pertains both

to marine shipping and to other forms of man’s eco-

nomic activity on a micro-scale understood as a

coastal state and on a macro scale understood as in-

fluence on neighbouring states and transit shipping.

The priority is safety and marine environment pro-

tection.

Recently, as part of working out a marine policy,

the European Union has, among other things, laid

stress on spatial planning at sea. According to Blue

Book (EU 2007) „increasing competition for marine

space and the cumulative impact of human activities

on marine ecosystems render the current fragmented

decision-making in maritime affairs inadequate, and

demand a more collaborative and integrated ap-

proach. For too long policies on, for instance, mari-

time transport, fisheries, energy, surveillance and

policing of the seas, tourism, the marine environ-

ment, and marine research have developed on sepa-

rate tracks, at times leading to inefficiencies, inco-

herencies and conflicts of use.

Based on this recognition, the Commission's vi-

sion is for an integrated maritime policy that covers

all aspects of our relationship with the oceans and

seas. This innovative and holistic approach will pro-

vide a coherent policy framework that will allow for

the optimal development of all sea-related activities

in a sustainable manner”.

An integrated governance framework for mari-

time affairs requires horizontal planning tools that

cut across sea-related sectoral policies and support

joined up policy making. The following three are of

major importance: maritime surveillance which is

critical for the safe and secure use of marine space;

maritime spatial planning which is a key planning

tool for sustainable decision-making; and a compre-

hensive and accessible source of data and infor-

mation.

According to the Blue Book (EU 2007) a

Roadmap for Maritime Spatial Planning: Achieving

Common Principles in the EU has recently been ac-

cepted (EU 2008). According to the records of this

plan: Maritime Spatial Planning is a key instrument

for the Integrated Maritime Policy for the EU. It

helps public authorities and stakeholders to coordi-

nate their action and optimises the use of marine

space to benefit economic development and the ma-

rine environment. This Communication aims to fa-

cilitate the development of Maritime Spatial Plan-

ning by Member States and encourage its

implementation at national and EU level. It sets out

key principles for Maritime Spatial Planning and

Safety of Navigation and Spatial Planning at

Sea

J. Hajduk

Maritime University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

ABSTRACT: Until recently the concept of spatial planning concerned only land areas, chaos prevailing at sea

in this scope. Vessel routes were selected by the Master on the principle of “freedom of navigation”. It was

similar with the submarine routes of pipelines and cables, wind farm construction zones, excavation of aggre-

gates, or the conduct of any human activity at sea.

A systemic approach is introduced and preferred currently, which is to take into consideration the natural

conditions and human achievements on one hand, and look ahead on the other, systematising procedural ac-

tivities and minimising possible conflicts of interests among potential users of the sea.

262

seeks, by way of debate, to encourage the develop-

ment of a common approach among Member States.

Particular European countries have so far reached

different degrees of progress in the scope of spatial

planning at sea. New organisational solutions are

implemented and the related documents are tempo-

rarily of “proposition” status and are passing through

the stage of domestic and international agreements

(EU 2008).

2 DRAFT SPATIAL PLANNING IN THE

GERMAN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

(EEZ)

The proposal put forward by Germany in June 2008

(BSH 2008) takes account of the following forms of

human activity at sea:

− shipping,

− exploitation of non-living resources,

− pipelines and submarine cables,

− marine scientific research,

− energy production, wind energy in particular,

− fisheries and mariculture,

− protection of the marine environment

For shipping, on the other hand, the following

chief objectives and principles have been set down

(BSH 2008):

1 Shipping is granted priority over the other spatial-

ly significant uses in the priority areas for ship-

ping as indicated in the map (Figures 1&2). To

the extent spatially significant planning, measures

and projects are not compatible with the function

of the shipping priority area in these areas they

are not permitted.

2 Special consideration is given to shipping in the

reservation areas for shipping as indicated in the

map. This needs to be taken into account in a

comparative evaluation with other spatially sig-

nificant planning tasks, measures and projects.

3 Pollution of the marine environment by shipping

shall be reduced.

Besides applicable regulations of IMO, the "best

environmental practice" according to the OSPAR

(The Convention for the Protection of the Marine

Environment of the North-East Atlantic) and HEL-

COM (The Convention on the Protection of the Ma-

rine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area) Conven-

tions and the respective state-of-the-art technology

shall be taken into account.

Generally, the objectives pertaining to shipping

have been set down correctly in the proposal. In

Figure 1 the presented main and reserve shipping

routes in the North Sea do not arouse controversies.

The planned main shipping routes and reserve ship-

ping areas overlap with the main routes of vessel

traffic flow and take account of the increased num-

ber and size of ships, including difficult hydromete-

orologic conditions and emergency situations.

The problem of EEZ zone in the Baltic Sea has

been tackled in a completely different way, on the

other hand (Fig. 2). Only the vessel traffic from the

Kiel Canal and the Great Belt to the north-east in the

direction of the Bornholmsgat has been considered.

No vessel traffic to and from the ports of

Swinoujscie and Szczecin has been taken account of,

which may pose a threat to navigational safety in fu-

ture and cause sea accidents. At present there are

two shipping routes leading up to the ports of

Swinouj- scie/Szczecin. The first and basic one is

located eastward off the coasts of Rügen on Germa-

ny’s territorial waters.

Figure 1. Spatial Plan for the German Exclusive Economic

Zone (Draft) - Regulations- North Sea

(http://www.bsh.de/en/The_BSH/Notifications/Draft_map_Nor

th_Sea.pdf)

The other, an alternative one, runs outside of

Germany’s territorial waters. There is also a ship-

ping route linking by the shortest distance the ports

of Swinoujscie and Ystad in Sweden.

Figure 2. Spatial Plan for the German Exclusive Economic

Zone (Draft) - Regulations- Baltic Sea.

(http://www.bsh.de/en/The_BSH/Notifications/Draft_map_balt

ic_sea.pdf)