143

1 INTRODUCTION

In2010theEuropeanUnionlaunchedanewresearch

and development program to protect the Baltic Sea

worth EUR 100 million over the period 2010‐2017,

called Baltic Organizations Network for Funding

SciencesEEIG(BONUS).BONUSisconsideredasthe

firstmodelcaseforthedevelopmentofscience‐ba

sed

management of the European regional seas by

bringing together the research communities of

marine, maritime, economical and societal research

to address the major challenges faced by the Baltic

Searegion(BonusPortal,2014).

TheEuropeanUnione‐Maritimeinitiativeaimsto

promote the use of advanced information

technologies forworking and doing business in the

ritime transport sector. The ESABALT is a

research and development joined (Finnish Geodetic

Institute, FURUNO Finland, SSPA Sweden and

Maritime University of Szczecin, 2014) project

studying the feasibility of a novel system for

enhancingmaritimesafety.Theaimofthis paperis

to present results of analysis and i

dentification of

stakeholders. Using created stakeholder lists,

potentialESABALTsystemuserwereidentifiedand

userprofilesgroupswereproposed.

2 MARITIMESAFETY

Theyaremorethan77thousandsofmerchantvessels

registered [Equasis] and many times more sailing

and motor boats. Every year those figures are

increasing,whicheffect

sthatourseasbecomemore

andmorecrowded.

AccordingtothereportsfromtheStatesinBaltic

regiontherewere149shipaccidentsintheHELCOM

areain2012(Figure1),whichis6morethantheyear

before (increase of 4%) and 19 more than in 2010

(increaseof15%).

Maritime Safety – Stakeholders in Information

Exchange Process

P.Wołejsza

aritimeUniversityofSzczecin,Poland

S.Thombre&R.Guinness

FinnishGeodeticInstitute,Finland

ABSTRACT:Thispaperpresentsthemethodologyandresearchresultsonidentificationofpotentialusersof

theESABALTsystem,whichistargetedtowardsimprovingthesituationalawarenessintheBalticSearegion.

Wedescribethetechniqueofanalysingthestakeholdersinvolvedinmaritimesectorprocesses,especially in

maritimetra

nsportprocesses,whilealsotakingintoaccounttheirdifferentclassificationcriteria.Theresulting

listofstakeholdersisusedtoidentifysystemusersandtheirclassificationintouserprofilesgroups.Thisstudy

willformthebasisfortheidentificationofuserrequirementsoftheESABALTsystem.

http://www.transnav.eu

the International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 9

Number 1

March 2015

DOI:10.12716/1001.09.01.18

144



Figure1. Accidents in Baltic region in the period 2004‐

2012[helcom].

Due to modification of the reporting format in

2012,thenewcategory“contact”(Figure2),asatype

ofaccident,wasincludedinthereporting,definedas

strikinganyfixedorfloatingobjectotherthanships

orunderwaterobjects(wrecksetc.).



Figure2. Types of accidents in Baltic region in

2012[helcom].

Collisions have been the most common type of

shipping accidents in 2011 and 2010 while in 2006‐

2009groundingsweremorecommonthancollisions.

In2012collisionsaccountedfor31%(47cases)ofall

accidents which is the same percentage as for

groundings and the collective category of other

accidents.



Figure3.Typesof accidentsinBaltic regionintheperiod

2004‐2012[helcom]

Amounting to 48 cases (32%) of all accidents;

collisions were the most frequent type of shipping

accidentsintheBalticin2010.Thiswasthefirsttime

since 2006 that collisions  were more common than

groundingsintheBalticSea.Thenumberofreported

collisions has been decreasing since 2005‐2006

 but

increased by 40% in 2010 from the lowest reported

numberofcollisionsin2009‐34collisions(Figure4).



Figure4. Collisions in Baltic region in the period 2004‐

2012[helcom].

Ship to ship collisions accounted for 50% of all

collisioncasesin2010andtherestofthecaseswere

collisions with fixed and/or floating structures, e.g.

peers, navigation signs etc. The number of ship to

ship collisions in 2010 was higher than in the last

threeyearsbutstill30%

lessthanin2005‐2006.The

number of collisions with objects has remained

largely unchanged in previous years but decreased

by roughly 20% in 2010 compared to 2005‐2009

(Figure5).



Figure5. Typesof collisionsinBalticregionin theperiod 

2004‐2010[helcom].

On the picture below there are statistical 

information from insurance company The Swedish

Club.



Figure5. Average claim cost & frequency 2001 — 2011,

limit>=USD10000[Swedish]

145

Accordingdata presentedabove,average cost of

collision is more than 1 million USD. The Swedish

Club shares 13.6% (2010) of hull and machinery

insuranceglobalmarket.AccordingFigure5,around

2.5% of vessels are in collision every year i.e. over

1,900. In this situation the total cost of collisions

 is

around2billionUSDperyear.Accordingdatafrom

InternationalUnionofMarineInsurance,worldwide

premiumvolumein2013was34.2billionUSD.

ESABALTaimstoincreasethesafetyofallvessels

operating in the Baltic Sea by providing tools and

serviceswhichenhancesituationalawareness.Thisis

achieved

using the latest technological advances in

sensing,positioning,eNavigation,Earth observation

systems, and multichannel cooperative

communications. In addition, ESABALT aims to

facilitatecrowdsourcingofrelevantinformationfrom

a multitude of users. That is, by reporting

informationtoacentralrepository,allenduserswill

be able to achieve a greater level

 of situational

awarenessthantheywouldbyactingindependently.

Aguiding tenet oftheESABALT concept isthat all

maritime users in the Baltic Sea can operate more

safely by collaboratively building and maintaining

situationalawareness.

3 INFORMATIONEXCHANGEPROCESS

Informationexchangeisakey enablerofsituational

awareness due

to the fact that no individual in a

system as complex as the maritime transportation

systemholds alloftheinformationrelevanttohisor

hersafety.Similarly,atthelevelofavessel,novessel

collectively holds all of the information relevant to

herownsafety.Therefore,inorderto

obtainasmuch

relevantinformation as possibleand maintaingood

situational awareness, a vessel and her crew must

engage in various information exchange processes.

This section outlines some of the guiding

assumptions concerning the information exchange

processes used in the maritime domain, which are

relevantfortheESABALTproject.

Assumption

1:Informationmustflowfromshore‐

to‐ship, ship‐to‐shore, and ship‐to‐ship. All three

typesofinformationflowareexpectedtobeusedby

the ESABALT system. Shore‐to‐ship and ship‐to‐

shore are extremely important because centralized

information management, for example, through a

VTSoperatorprovide

ahigherlevelofreliabilityand

qualityassuranceformaritimeinformationexchange.

However, VTS operators cannot maintain good

overall situational awareness without regular

updates from vessels, for example, updating of

routeswhenavesselchangesherplannedroutedue

to unforeseen circumstances. Lastly, ship‐to‐ship

communicationisassumedto

bebeneficialduetothe

fact that the ship‐to‐shore and shore‐to‐ship links

may not be available all of the time and in all

locations at sea. In addition, ship‐to‐ship

communication may provide the most timely and

reliable means of communication when the

information is of

 critical nature and needs to be

exchanged quickly (e.g. maneuvers to avoid

collision). Another example of ship‐to‐ship

communication isdirect transmission and reception

ofpositionandheadingdatathroughavessels’AIS

transponder.

Assumption 2: Different vessels have different

communication capabilities. In particular, larger

vessels,suchascommercial

cargoorpassengerships

are assumed to have greater communication

capabilities compared to, e.g. pleasure boats. For

example, most commercial ships have VSAT

capabilities, which allow them to send and receive

dataglobally,whereasapleasureboatmayhaveonly

VHSorcellularradios/phones.VHS may be limited

to voice‐only

 communication and cellular phone

coverageisgenerallyonlyavailableincoastalareas.

Asaresultofthisassumption,theESABALTsystem

mustbeinteroperablewithdifferentcommunication

systems, and it must adapt itself based on the

communicationcapabilitiesoftheuserterminal.

Assumption 3:Adequate standards for maritime

information exchange

already exist. Standardized

protocols and formats for exchange of maritime

information are important because the information

must be processes by multiple parties, and

furthermore the formats must be machine readable,

in order to facilitate automation. Examples of

relevant existing standards include NMEA 0183,

NMEA2000,S‐57,S‐100,S‐101,

andS‐102.

Assumption 4: Information exchange processes

shouldbehighlyautomated.Asaresultofasurvey

of potential users, it was apparent that information

exchange processes should be highly automated, in

order to not burden the crew with additional

workload.Inaddition,automatedsystemsgenerally

requirelesstraining,

soautomationalsoreducesthe

trainingburdencreatedbytheESABALTsystem.

Assumption 5: Most users are assumed to be

cooperativeandtrustworthy.Sinceitisplannedthat

the ESABALT system will utilize crowdsourcing to

build up situational awareness, it is important to

considerthetrustworthinessofthoseparticipatingin

the

collectionof information. If anuncooperativeor

malicious user intentionally provides falsified

information, thiscan have serious consequences for

theoverallsystem.Thesystemmusthavecapabilities

toidentifysuchusersandtorestrictthemfromusing

thesystem.It is assumed, however,  thatmost users

ofESABALTarecooperative

andtrustworthy.Thisis

areasonableassumption,especiallyifauthentication

isrequiredtoaccessorotherwiseusethesystem.Ifa

user behaves contrary to the guidelines and

principlesintheend‐userlicenseagreement,thenhe

or she will be banished from the system. Because

mostusersarelinkedto

ashiporshippingcompany

and have a  reputation to uphold, they will be

motivated to operate according to established

proceduresandguidelines.

4 ESABALTSTAKEHOLDERS

The maritime sector comprises a number of

processes; for example, transport process,

information exchange process, and disaster

management process, etc. The ESABALT system is

primarily targeted towards persons and entities

involved with the information exchange process.

146

Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify

participants in this maritime sector process  who

would be the primary beneficiaries or stakeholders

and to categorize them based on three criteria,

stakeholdersbyinformationneedsinrelationtotime,

stakeholders by information need types, and

stakeholdersbymaritimeinformationservices.



Thefirstcriterionliststhestakeholdersaccording

to the time‐characteristics of the information they

require,forexamplecurrentoperationalinformation,

currenttacticalinformationorinformationbasedon

historicaldata.Thesecondcriterionlistsstakeholders

by thetype ofthe informationneeded, forexample

operational information, information regarding

transport logistics

and traffic management, and

information regarding the environment and

managementofcalamities.Thethirdcategorizationis

made based on maritime information services and

the providers of those services. Table 1, 2 and 3

shows the different stakeholders under each of the

criteria.



Table1. Stakeholders by information needs in relation to

time

_______________________________________________

Stakeholder Examplesofstakeholders

group

_______________________________________________

Operational seamen,sailors,fishermen,pilots,

datauser VTSoperators,

non‐professionalusers(i.e.leisureboats),

meteorological,hydrological

institutions/serviceproviders,

freightforwarders,

shippingagencies,portauthorities,

Tactical  shippingagencies,portauthorities,

datauser VTSoperators,

meteorological,hydrological

institutions/serviceproviders,

freightforwarders,

maritimeadvisorsandsuperintendents, 

shipowners,



charterers,

Historical shipowners,

datauser equipmentmanufacturers,

classificationandinsurancesocieties,

metrological,hydrological

institutions/serviceproviders,

maritimeadministration(accidentsanalysis,

eventsstatistics),

MET(maritimeeducationandtraining)

institutions,

researchinstitutions.

_______________________________________________



Table2.Stakeholdersbyinformationneedtypes

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

StakeholdergroupExamplesofstakeholders

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Operationalinformation:seamen,sailors,fishermen,

(collisionavoidance,optimizationofshipmaneuvers,optimization  non‐professionalusers(i.e.leisureboats),

ofharbourmaneuvers,optimizationofloading/unloadingoperations) pilots,

VTSoperators,

shipowners,

shippingagencies,portauthorities,



Informationfortrafficmanagementandtransportlogistics:shippingagencies,portauthorities,

(trackingdangerousgoods,trafficmonitoring,signalingdangerous VTSoperators,

situations,voyageplanning,portandterminalmanagement,cargo shipowners,

andfleetmanagement)freightforwarders,

maritimeadvisorsandsuperintendents, 



Informationforenvironmentprotectionandcalamityabatement:  state(national)authorities:maritimeauthority/office,

(planningandmonitoringoflifeandpropertyrescueoperations,   ministryoftransport/shipping/environment,VTS,

planningandmonitoringofactionstakentocounteractandreduce  SARcentres,spills–emergencyresponsecentres,

naturalcalamityconsequences,planningandmonitoringofactions port

authority,

takentocounteractandreducenaturalenvironmentpollutionregionallegalbodies(e.g.Balticregion,Gulfof

consequences)Finland),classificationandinsurancesocieties,

__________________________________________________________________________________________________



Table3.Stakeholdersbymaritimeinformationservices

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

MaritimeInformationServiceSystemOperator/ProviderBeneficiary

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

VTSInformationService(IS)VTSauthorityseamen,sailors,fishermen,

NavigationalAssistanceService(NAS) nationalcompetentVTSauthority/ pilots,

coastalorportauthorityfreightforwarders,

TrafficOrganizationService(TOS)  nationalcompetentVTSauthority/ shipowners,charterers,

coastalorportauthorityshiphandlingagencies,portauthorities

VTSoperators,



LocalPortService(LPS)localport/harbouroperator,shiphandlingagencies,portauthorities,

port/commercialtugorganization,

PilotageServicepilotAuthority/pilotorganizationVTSoperators,

TugServicetugauthorityfreightforwarders,

IcebreakingAssistanceport/commercialtugorganization maritimeadvisoryfirmsand

superintendents,



MaritimeSafetyInformation(MSI)  nationalcompetentauthorityship‐ownerassociations,

VesselShoreReportingnationalcompetentauthority,classificationsocieties,

shipowner/operator/master

147

RemoteMonitoringofshipsSystems VTSauthority,shipowner

MaritimeAssistanceService(MAS) coastal/portauthority/organizations

SearchandRescue(SAR)Service  searchandrescueauthorities



IceNavigationServicenationalcompetentauthority/   seamen,sailors,fishermen,

organisationpilots,

MeteorologicalInformationService nationalmeteorologicalauthority/

WMO/publicinstitutions



TelemedicalAssistanceService(TMAS),nationalhealthorganization/seamen,sailors,fishermen,

dedicatedhealthorganizationpilots,

NauticalChartServicenationalhydrographic

authority/governmentalagencies

NauticalPublicationsServicenationalhydrographic

authority/governmentalagencies

Real‐timeHydrographicandnationalhydrographicand

EnvironmentalInformationServices meteorologicalauthorities

__________________________________________________________________________________________________



Table4.PotentialESABALTsystemusers

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

UsersGeneralcharacteristicAnticipatedneeds

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

CharterersMonitoringofvessels’status,surroundingsandvoyageparameters Accesstocurrentdata

ClassificationandCollectinginformationaboutvesselsandcompaniesforAccesstohistoricalandstatistical

insurancesocieties classificationandinsuranceprocessesdata

CoastguardMonitoringofvessels’parametersandvoyageforsecurityAccesstocurrentdata,sending

purposeson

administeredareaemergencyinformationtothe

system

CollegesCollectingdataforstudentstrainingandscientificresearchAccesstohistorical andstatistical

data,on‐lineaccesstocurrentdata

Crewingagencies Monitoringvoyageparametersi.e.portsofcall,ETA,ETDetc.  Accesstothesystemviaship

operatororship

owner

Emergency   MonitoringadministratedareaforemergencypurposesOn‐lineaccesstocurrentdata,

managementcentersendingemergencyinformationto

thesystem

Equipment   Postprocessingonly,noneedon‐lineaccessAccesstohistoricalandstatistical

manufacturersdata

FishermenMonitoringownvesselparameters,itssurroundingsandnearest On‐lineaccess

toallcurrentdata,

trafficsendinginformationtothesystem

Hydrological  MonitoringadministratedareaforhydrologicalpurposesOn‐lineaccesstocurrentdata,

servicessendingemergencyinformationto

thesystem

Icebreaking  MonitoringadministratedareaforicebreakingpurposesOn‐lineaccesstocurrentdata,

assistancesendingemergencyinformationto

the

system

Localauthorities ManagingtheadministeredareaAccesstohistoricalandstatistical

data

Marineaccident CollectinginformationaboutvesselsandcompaniesforAccesstohistoricalandstatistical

investigation  investigationprocessesdata

branches

MaritimeadvisorsCollectinginformationaboutvesselsandcompaniesforAccesstohistoricalandstatistical

investigationprocessesdata

Superintendents

Monitoringofvessels’status,surroundingsandvoyageparameters Accesstocurrentdata

MaritimeauthorityManagingtheadministeredareaOn‐lineaccesstoallcurrentdata,

sendinginformationtothesystem

Meteorological MonitoringadministeredareaformeteorologicalpurposesOn‐lineaccesstocurrentdata,

servicessendingemergencyinformationto

thesystem



Ministryof   PreparingtherulesAccesstohistorical andstatistical

transport/shipping/data

environment

Navalvessels  Monitoringofvessels’parametersandvoyageforsecurityOn‐lineaccesstocurrentdata,

purposesonadministeredareasendingemergencyinformationto

thesystem

OffshoreMonitoringthesurroundingsofoffshoreinstallationsOn‐lineaccess

tocurrentdata,

sendinginformationtothesystem

Pilotstations  Monitoringvoyageparametersi.e.portsofcall,ETA,ETDetc.  On‐lineaccesstoportrelated

information

Pilotvessels  Monitoringownvesselparameters,itssurroundingsandnearest On‐lineaccesstoallcurrentdata,

trafficsendinginformationtothe

system

Portauthorities ManagingportanditssurroundingsOn‐lineaccesstoportrelated

Information

Researchinstitutes CollectingdataforscientificresearchAccesstohistoricalandstatistical

data,on‐lineaccesstocurrentdata

Researchvessels Monitoringownvesselparameters,itssurroundingsandnearest On‐lineaccesstoallcurrent

data,

148

traffic,collectingdataforresearchpurposessendinginformationtothesystem

SailorsMonitoringownvesselparameters,itssurroundingsandnearest On‐lineaccesstoallcurrentdata,

trafficsendinginformationtothesystem

SeamenMonitoringownvesselparameters,itssurroundingsandnearest On‐lineaccesstoallcurrentdata,



trafficsendinginformationtothesystem

SearchandrescueMonitoringadministeredareaforSARpurposesOn‐lineaccesstocurrentdata,

SARsendingemergencyinformationto

thesystem

Shipoperators Monitoringofvessels’status,surroundingsandvoyageparameters On‐lineaccesstocurrentdata

Shipowners  Monitoringofvessels’status,

surroundingsandvoyageparameters Accesstocurrentdata

Shippingagencies Monitoringofvessels’status,surroundingsandvoyageparameters Accesstocurrentdata

TrainingCollectingdataforstudentstrainingAccesstohistoricalandstatistical

organizationsdata,on‐lineaccesstocurrentdata

Universities  CollectingdataforstudentstrainingandscientificresearchAccess

tohistoricalandstatistical

data,on‐lineaccesstocurrentdata

VTScenters,  Monitoringofvessels’trafficonadministeredareaOn‐lineaccesstocurrentdata,

VTSpersonnelsendingemergencyinformationto

thesystem

__________________________________________________________________________________________________



BasedontheselistsofESABALTstakeholders,the

actualusersofthesystemcanbederived,asshownin

Table4.Thelistofuserswillhelpincategorizinginto

different user profiles to ensure that appropriate

access rights areprovided to them inthe ESABALT

system.Anotherbenefit

ofidentifyingtheusersisthat

itallowstodefinethesystemrequirementsspecificto

everyuserprofiletype.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The ESABALT consortium is developing and

evaluating an innovative concept for increasing

maritimesafetywithparticularemphasisintheBaltic

Sea. The focus is on increasing overall situational

awareness,through

theuseofcrowdsourcingandby

integrating various advanced navigation, Earth

Observation, and communications technologies. We

seek feedback and strong engagement with the

enduser community and various stakeholders,

including Search and Rescue (SAR) Centers, Vessel

Traffic Services (VTS) Centers, and environmental

authorities. Furthermore, we will inform the user

community and

public concerning progress of the

project through our website and through dedicated

disseminationandoutreachactivities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research has beenconducted within the project

Enhanced Situational Awareness to Improve

MaritimeSafetyintheBaltic(ESABALT), funded by

the European Union’s Joint Baltic Sea System

Research Programme called Baltic Organizations

Network

forFundingSciencesEEIG(BONUS).

REFERENCES

European Union, ‘BONUS Portal’, Available at:

http://www.bonusportal.org/

Finnish Geodetic Institute, Furuno Finland Oy, SSPA

Sweden, and Maritime University of Szczecin, Poland,

‘Enhanced Situational Awareness to ImproveMaritime

Safety in the Baltic – ESABALT’, Available at:

http://www.bonusportal.org/bonus_projects/innovation

_pproject/esabalt

HELCOM (2014), Annual report on shipping accidents  in

theBalticSeain2012,pp.43,

www.helcom.fi

The Swedish Club, “Collisions and groundings 2011”,

www.swedishclub.com

The Swedish Club, “Basic facts 2012”,

www.swedishclub.com

