“Collaborative Science for Sustainable Maritime Practices in a Changing World”
Kotka Maritime Research Conference #komarec23 will launch a new event to generate dialogue between the academia and other sectors of society, creating rich pictures of the potential pathways to more sustainable maritime practices. The event will provide researchers studying maritime sustainability related themes an opportunity to bring out their results and ideas and discuss with stakeholders whose representatives are invited to act as keynote speakers and commentators.
Conference aims to: 1) map and increase awareness of the ongoing research contributing to sustainable development of maritime practices. 2) discuss about the potential societal implications of the presented studies. 3) identify current and future knowledge needs.
PROGRAM
Day 1 – Wednesday 8.11.2023
11:00 Lunch in Satama Areena (self-funded)
Event hostess Anna Kiiski, Executive Director, Kotka Maritime Research Centre
12:00 OPENING WORDS Toni Vanhala, Director, City Development and Communications, City of Kotka
12:10 KEYNOTE SPEECH Floris Goerlandt, Associate professor, Dalhausie University, Canada Enhancing Arctic shipping sustainability through transformative risk governance: A Canadian perspective
13:00 Refresment break
13:20 SESSION 1 TOOLS FOR MINIMISING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF SHIPPING
Chairs of the Session 1 Mats Björkendahl, Finnish Shipowners’ Association Mia Hytti, Baltic Sea Action Group
Analysis of autonomous ships’ impact on the maritime practitioners required skills Bolbot, V. Methlouthia, O., Chaal, M., Valdez Banda, O., BahooToroody, A., Tsvetkova, A., Hellström, M., Saarni, J., Virtanen, S.
11.10 Refresment break
11:40 SESSION 4 RISK ANALYTICS AND LEARNING TO ENHANCE MARITIME SAFETY
Chairs of the Session 4 Mirka Laurila-Pant, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Olli-Pekka Brunila, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences
The Ministry of the Environment requested statements from stakeholders on the new Finnish coastal strategy aimed at the year 2050. The Merikotka Core Research Network conducts interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, particularly related to maritime logistics. The development of sustainable practices in maritime logistics has a particular importance to the entire coastal region and its well-being. Since the goal of our Merikotka Core Research Network is to increase knowledge and understanding and thereby support sustainable maritime logistics, we decided to provide a joint statement on the coastal strategy focusing on maritime logistics -related topics.
The process of formulating this joint statement began with translating the coastal strategy into English so that each researcher could review it independently and provide comments. Following this, we held a meeting where we discussed all the comments and ideas together. Finally, a joint statement was compiled from the suggestions and submitted to the public statement service. The statement is public and can be found on the website of the statement service.
1) map and increase awareness of the ongoing research contributing to sustainable development of maritime practices.
2) discuss about the potential societal implications of the presented studies.
3) identify current and future knowledge needs.
We invite abstracts on research-driven results, ideas, and solutions that have potential to contribute to sustainable development of maritime operations in the changing world.
Here, sustainable operation means such way of operating that serves the human well-being by enabling moving of people and goods, and advancing economics, while not degrading the environment, nor compromising the human safety or equality. Any angle of entry into this definition is welcome but must be opened in the abstract.
The abstracts can contribute for example to the following questions:
Digitalization, AI, automation: Increased digitalization, machine learning and artificial intelligence in maritime operations and design has brought new opportunities in terms of achieving sustainability goals, but also additional risks and challenges e.g. related to cybersecurity, regulations and policies, work-life wellbeing, and educational needs. How to take the opportunities and avoid or control the risks?
Socio-political challenges: How have maritime practices evolved in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and under the impact of global economic crisis? How do these affect the achievement of the sustainability goals? What could be done to ensure the sustainable development despite the challenges?
Changing traffic and transportation flows: The changing world changes maritime traffic parameters and freights. How does this affect maritime risks and resilience, and further on the sustainability of the operation? What tools or measures can support risk management or improve resilience, to ensure the sustainability?
Alternative fuels and energy sources, air emissions: National and international agreements and new regulatory instruments create pressure to substantially decrease greenhouse gas emissions from maritime operations. Do they work as intended? What is the potential of new alternative fuels and other energy sources here? How sustainable solutions are they?
Other maritime emissions: How do the other emission types from maritime operations prevent the sector from achieving the sustainability criteria? How could these challenges be solved? What cross- and joint impacts with other blue economy sectors, as well as intersectoral management measures and strategies, should be considered?
Consequences of and adaptation to climate change: How do the consequences of climate change, such as more frequent extreme weathers or changes in the sea ice, affect the sustainability of maritime operation? How to adapt?
Instructions
Submit your abstract no later than 7 May 2023 via email to merikotka@merikotka.fi. NB! ABSTRACT SUBMISSION EXTENDED TO 21 MAY.
Title of the message should be: Abstract submission KOMAREC.
Please, download and use this MS Word -template for the formulation of your abstract and attach the file to the email.
Based on the abstracts received, the organizing committee will form logical thematic sessions of oral presentations (8-10 minutes + discussion) and an interactive poster session. On 20 June, the authors will be notified whether their contributions have been selected as an oral or a poster presentation. The authors whose abstracts are accepted as oral presentations will be asked to provide an extended abstract of two pages no later than 15 September.
We’ll request from the authors a permission to publish the abstracts on the conference website as open access. From our side this does not limit the authors’ use of the material for other purposes.
Questions
For questions or additional information, please contact merikotka@merikotka.fi
The organizer reserves right to make changes to the plans.
“Collaborative Science for Sustainable Maritime Practices in a Changing World”
Kotka Maritime Research Centre (Merikotka) is organising the first Kotka Maritime Research Conference #komarec23. Merikotka is a society of researchers and experts from the leading Finnish universities and research organisations with a shared mission to advance the sustainable development of maritime activities through interdisciplinary research and active societal dialogue, closely interacting with the other sectors of blue economy.
#komarec23 will launch a new event to promote this mission. The conference aims to generate dialogue between the academia and other sectors of society, creating rich pictures of the potential pathways to more sustainable maritime practices. The event will provide researchers studying maritime sustainability related themes an opportunity to bring out their results and ideas and discuss with stakeholders whose representatives are invited to act as keynote speakers and commentators.
We wish the event will increase the societal impact of scientific research, give rise to novel ideas, and generate interdisciplinary and -sectoral collaboration. Abstracts are invited from researchers representing a wide variety of disciplines, including both social, natural, and technical spheres.
6 April 2023 – Call for abstracts opened and published 7 May 2023 – Deadline for the abstract submission 21 May 2023 – ABSTRACT SUBMISSION EXTENDED 20 June 2023 – Invitations for the oral and poster presentations sent to the authors 15 August 2023 – The registration opens 25 September 2023 – Deadline for the submission of extended abstracts (2 p, oral presentations) 25 September 2023 – Registration deadline for the presenters (oral and poster) 25 October 2023 – Registration deadline for the other participants 8-9 November 2023 – Kotka Maritime Research Conference 2023
Practicalities
Venue: The conference venue is the brand new Event Centre Satama, located in the charming coastal city of Kotka. The city center, an island surrounded by the Baltic Sea, is known e.g. for its numerous parks, the Maritime Centre Vellamo, and the Maretarium aquarium – all within walking distance.
Connections: You can easily reach Kotka by bus or train. There are daily bus services from Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Jyväskylä. Check the schedules at Matkahuolto. For the train timetables and tickets, see VR.
Other accommodation options are available e.g. in Hotel Jokipuisto, Hotel Uninen, Hotel Merikotka or via Airbnb.
Registration: The conference is free of charge. Registration is required both from the presenters and audience. The registration system will open in August. Registration can be canceled free of charge if the cancellation is made no later than 2 days before the event. No-show fee 150 €.
Background
Functional and safe shipping, port operations, and maritime infrastructures are important enablers of international trade and passenger traffic – often providing the most energy- and climate-efficient form of transportation. In many corners of the world, the operational environment of the maritime sector is undergoing several forms of transitions in parallel, while at the same time there is a growing pressure to ensure the continuous sustainable development of the operation.
The international climate goals and ongoing green transition affect the maritime operations through diverse mechanisms, changing traffic flows, cargoes, fuels, and vessels. On top of that, the impacts of the climate change, such as more frequent extreme weathers, or the changes in ice cover, require adaptation of many types. Digitalization and the following increase of artificial intelligence in different parts of maritime systems provide promising opportunities, but also give rise to new risks. The geopolitical tensions create diverse safety and security threats as well.
While the maritime sector is struggling with the above challenges, it should not be forgotten the other blue sectors have high expectations for the use of the sea space too, including renewable energy producers, fisheries and aquaculture sector, mining and drilling companies, as well as the tourism sector and recreational users. Simultaneously the underwater life is severely threatened due to the pressures caused by the human activities. Just recently the UN member states agreed on a treaty to conserve 30% of the world’s high seas by 2030. Accordingly, there is a growing pressure to reconcile the maritime operations with the other forms of sea exploitation in a sustainable manner.
Due to all the aspects mentioned above, it can be stated the framing and structure of maritime systems, as well as their operative environments and “risk landscapes”, are undergoing radical changes in these days. Adapting to the situation and ensuring a sustainable transition to sustainable operations requires close interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration among actors with different roles in the society, including policymakers, authorities, infrastructure and service providers, companies, researchers, educational institutes, and the common public.
Questions
For questions or additional information, please contact merikotka@merikotka.fi The organizer reserves right to make changes to the plans.
Scientific committee
Chair: Research Director Annukka Lehikoinen Kotka Maritime Research Centre
Chair: Executive Director Anna Kiiski Kotka Maritime Research Centre
Members: Tiina Jauhiainen, Research Manager, South-Eastern University of Applied Science Ketki Kulkarni, Research Fellow, Aalto University Annukka Lehikoinen, Research Director, Kotka Maritime Research Centre Liangliang Lu, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki Eunice Olaniyi, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Turku
Kotka Maritime Research Association is seeking a qualified and motivated
RESEARCHER/CODER
to automate the translation of expert-elicited causal mental maps to quantitative probabilistic Bayesian Networks (BN) as part of the Academy of Finland-funded project GYROSCOPE. The generated code will be used in a participatory foresight modelling process to help maritime stakeholders better understand their situational picture and identify key risk or resilience factors.
Key tasks are
Reviewing and potentially updating the current translation algorithm.
Constructing the R or Python code needed to generate conditional probability tables, following the agreed logic.
Qualifications
The ideal applicant will be someone who:
can contribute to the algorithm design and independently produce the code (R or Python).
is familiar with the concepts of conditional probability distributions and discrete variables.
has previous knowledge of Bayesian inference and Bayesian networks.
can contribute to the writing of a scientific manuscript concerning the method.
The position is available from 1 September 2023 to 29 February 2024 (6 months), with the possibility of part-time work. Salary for this position will consist of a task-specific component and a personal salary component based on the applicant’s qualifications and experience, as per the contract terms.
Application
Submit your application no later than 21 May 2023 by email to Executive Director Anna Kiiski (anna.kiiski@merikotka.fi) with “Gyroscope coder” as the subject line. The application should consist of a short (max 1 page) motivation letter with a statement of the desired salary level, and a CV.
Inquiries
Please address any inquiries to Research Director Annukka Lehikoinen.
Email: annukka.lehikoinen@merikotka.fi
Phone: +358 50 5519288
Kotka Maritime Research Centre (Merikotka) is strongly represented in a new research project GYROSCOPE. The project is funded by the Academy of Finland and has started in January 2023.
Under the 2022 call for research on key areas of green and digital transition, the Academy of Finland has granted a total of around 19 million euros of funding to projects that contribute broadly to the green and digital transition by developing new solutions to promote carbon neutrality and mitigate and adapt to climate change. The funding granted is based on the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland.
The total budget of the three-year project is over two million euros. The project investigates opportunities provided by and risks associated with smart digital solutions in the context of green transition of the maritime sector.
New smart concepts and services are claimed to have a significant role in cleaner, safer, and more efficient logistics. However, the introduction of new devices and instruments across the operating environment by multiple actors may increase the risk of both technical issues and human errors. To ensure the sustainability of the digital transition, it is therefore important to proactively identify potential risks that the new smart solutions may bring along.
GYROSCOPE produces a multidimensional picture of the sustainable digital transition to low-carbon maritime logistics by applying stakeholder-participatory processes and modern risk analytics, considering alternative implementation pathways. Through a sectoral example, the project aims to understand the nature and preconditions of sustainable green transition also more generally, as well as the development picture of digitalisation as part of it.
In the project consortium, Kotka Maritime Research Centre is represented by Research Director Annukka Lehikoinen and professors Osiris Valdez Banda from Aalto University and Sakari Kuikka from the University of Helsinki. The other principal investigators are Professor Janne Hukkinen from the University of Helsinki and the consortium leader, Professor Toni Ahlqvist from the Finland Futures Research Centre of the University of Turku.
Researchers of the University of Helsinki, Aalto University, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Science, and Kotka Maritime Research Association have published a scientific article presenting a new science-based toolkit for organisers of environmental disaster response trainings. The article is published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction and is one of the outputs from the Merikotka-driven project SIMREC, co-funded by the European Union.
The diversity and frequency of major environmental disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires are growing globally. Major oil and other chemical accidents form one type of environmental disasters as well. Typical for the disaster management operations is that they call for effective collaborative response activities across organisational, sectoral and, in many cases also national borders. However, different operational systems, cultures, and norms of the participating agencies may hamper the collaboration. Multi-agent disaster response simulations help creating shared understanding of how the collaborative response activities should be implemented and thereby improve preparedness and resilience of communities.
In the article, the researchers pay specific attention to shared situational awareness among the response actors as a key to successful cooperative disaster management. They suggest a novel protocol for analysing the formation of such joint awareness during the response exercises.
The suggested protocol consists of thematic series of analytical questions and practical indicators to be monitored during the response exercises. It provides the training organisers a structured framework for identifying critical issues to be practiced with a particular team, or to be developed in terms of a certain exercise. This supports the planning of optimal disaster response trainings in the future.
The two-day conference brought together experts and researchers of oil spill response and maritime simulator training from the Baltic Sea countries. During the event, simulator-based oil spill response exercises and the opportunities they could offer for improving both national and international preparedness were elaborated.
The international conference organized in Kotka 22.–23.11. examined the results of the SIMREC project (Simulator for Improving Cross-Border Oil Spill Response in Extreme Conditions) and created an overview of future cooperation opportunities. The conference was opened by Research Director Ville Henttu from South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk). Henttu brought up the topicality of the project in the current security situation of the Baltic Sea and saw good opportunities for closer international cooperation based on the results. He also estimated that even though increasingly moving away from fossil fuels, the society will not be able to get rid of oil and its transportation in the very near future, thus the project’s results and development work will be relevant for a long time to come.
Ville Henttu opened the SIMREC seminar held at Maritime Centre Vellamo. Photo: Justiina Halonen.
Towards better preparedness with training, research and international cooperation
Pollution Response Expert Heli Haapasaari from the Finnish Border Guard served as a keynote speaker and commentator of the conference. In her opening speech, Haapasaari described the current status and future development targets of Finland’s oil spill response preparedness. As areas to be developed, she brought up the information needs related to new, greener fuels: their behavior in the sea, collectability and the necessary oil recovery equipment. According to Haapasaari, more attention should also be paid to oil spill response capabilities in challenging environmental conditions.
Haapasaari emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the prevention of oil spills in the Baltic Sea, reminding that it is not realistic to expect any state alone to maintain the level of preparedness that would be required to manage the currently plausible worst-case spill scenario. On the other hand, when planning common preparedness, it is necessary to consider the special conditions of the northern Baltic Sea: the vast majority of oil spill response vessels in the region are such that they cannot operate in ice and thus cannot be relied on in the winter conditions of the northernmost sea areas.
Haapasaari highlighted the importance of oil spill response rehearsals: in terms of oil spill preparedness, training is the only way to strengthen the skills needed, because – fortunately – leakages are so rare that the experience gained through the real-life operations is very limited. Exercises are organized under several umbrellas, for example under Helcom and Copenhagen agreements, and based on bilateral agreements between states. However, resources are limited and Haapasaari saw the need for additional exercises and various research and development projects as significant.
Maritime simulators as additional resources for oil spill response training
In their talks, SIMREC researchers and experts presented the results obtained in the project and the developed solutions for utilizing simulators in oil spill response training. The bridge simulators, jointly owned by Xamk and Ekami vocational school, with their oil spill management and ice navigation functionalities have provided the project with a development and testing environment. The joint report of the SIMREC consortium was also announced at the seminar. The report compiles the main results of the project into a road map of eight recommendations to support the design and organization of effective simulator-based oil spill response training.
Research Director Annukka Lehikoinen from the Kotka Maritime Research Centre (Merikotka) emphasized in her talk how even a small oil spill can have irreversible effects on the sensitive ecosystem of the Baltic Sea. As long as oil is transported and ships use it as fuel, the risk of oil accidents exists. Whether the oil can be recovered at sea or whether it drifts to the shores has a huge impact on the harm and costs resulting from the accident. For this reason, maintaining and developing oil spill response readiness is highly important.
Researcher Ossi Tonteri from the Finnish Environmental Institute (SYKE) had investigated the oil spill response readiness of the Baltic Sea states through a literature review and presented the results of the RETOS™ survey of the Baltic Sea states. It seems there is room for improvement specifically in terms of response training activities in all the analyzed countries. Tonteri suggested that maritime simulators with oil spill response elements could provide a cost-effective option to increase the training activity.
Simulator training is indeed an effective tool for developing oil spill response competency, but it requires the organizers carefully define the target group -specific learning objectives and create plausible exercise scenarios relevant to these objectives. Senior Maritime Lecturer Antti Lanki from Xamk presented the operating model used in the SIMREC project for planning simulator-based exercises. The operating model has been under development at Xamk since 2016. The model is based on a training needs survey and its functionality has been tested in national exercises. Now, in the SIMREC project, the protocol was internationalized.
To develop realistic training scenarios, the SIMREC project used advanced risk modeling technology. Based on a probability calculus using vessel traffic data, a collision involving an oil tanker could be expected to occur in the Gulf of Finland area approximately every 13 years, said Post-doctoral Researcher Liangliang Lu from Aalto University. With the help of the risk analysis model, Lu was also able to show the areas of the highest risk of ship collision-induced oil accidents in the Gulf of Finland sea area and could estimate the most likely leak volumes. This information was utilized in the scenario planning of the simulator exercises organized in the SIMREC project.
Exercises should be systematically observed to evaluate their functionality and, on the other hand, also analyze the performance of the learners. By actively utilizing this information even better exercises can be developed and the additional training needs identified, which enables the development of customized long-term training programs for different groups of operators. Post-doctoral Researcher Mirka Laurila-Pant from the University of Helsinki told the seminar audience about the significance of shared situational awareness in successful crisis management operations and presented a protocol developed in the SIMREC project for observing and analysing its formation during various rehearsals.
Watch a 13-minute film on the project results and an exercise organised in May 2022:
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Future prospects for international cooperation
Unit Leader Robert Grundmann from Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services (Fraunhofer CML) told how the European Maritime Simulator Network (EMSN) was established ten years ago and how the activities and opportunities have developed and expanded since then. With the EMSN connection, maritime simulator centers operating in different countries, nowadays even on different continents, can carry out joint exercises in a shared virtual environment. The EMSN connection also served as a channel for the SIMREC exercises. Grundmann also introduced new opportunities for interaction in simulator environment provided by the different types of virtual reality.
The elaboration of cooperation opportunities between simulator centers in the Baltic Sea region in the context of oil spill response was continued with an expert panel involving Grundmann and Lanki, accompanied by Jarmo Kõster, director of the simulator center in the Estonian Maritime Academy under Tallinn University of Technology, and Johanna Salokannel, project manager representing Novia University of Applied Sciences and the Aboa Mare simulator center. The audience and Heli Haapasaari also commented on the discussion.
As a result of the discussion, it can be summed up a number of technical investments would still be needed to organise joint oil spill management exercises by the participating simulator centers, as the simulator center in Kotka is the most advanced in terms of the special functionalities required for such training. On the other hand, it was noted that there are a number of other elements in the spill response management operations that could be practiced using the strengths of each simulator center and educational institution. Such could be, for example, simulations related to multicultural communication or the coordination of oil spill operations. The simulations could also help in designing optimal international field rehearsals, such as the annual Balex Delta exercise.
In the panel discussion, maritime simulation experts (starting from right) Johanna Salokannel (Novia), Jarmo Kõster (Estonian Maritime Academy), Antti Lanki (Xamk) and Robert Grundmann (Fraunhofer CML) with the moderator Annukka Lehikoinen (Merikotka). Photo: Justiina Halonen.
Real-life demonstrations
On the second day of the seminar, Antti Lanki presented the Xamk-Ekami simulator center to the seminar audience and demonstrated a boom deployment and towing exercise in a simulator environment. The center’s bridge simulators simulate relatively realistically the experience of operating oil spill response vessels in varying conditions at sea. In the simulation environment, the vessels can work together, interacting with each other. The in-water behavior of oil and oil booms under different wind conditions and wave heights are represented logically, too. Combined with the real-life communications technology and other operational tools to support the creation of shared situational awareness, bridge simulators appear to provide an effective environment for experimenting and practicing various oil spill response scenarios and tasks.
After a joint lunch, the seminar guests were transported to Finland’s only oil spill response test basin, operated by Xamk. The basin is a former wastewater aeration basin, provided for Xamk’s R&D use by Kymen Vesi Ltd. Facilities have been built to study how different oil types behave in water and can be collected using different collection devices and methods. Research Manager Justiina Halonen together with Project Manager Antero Myrén and R&D Expert Manu Kettunen carried out an oil recovery demonstration to illustrate the properties of marine diesel oil affecting the performance of the oil recovery skimmers. The guests were also provided demonstrations on how new types of fuels behave when spilled on water.
Demonstrations of oil spill behaviour at Xamk’s oil spill response test basin. Photos: Annukka Lehikoinen.
Future plans
As a result of the two-day seminar, it was concluded that it is desirable to maintain the established network of experts and continue the joint development of the initiated ideas. The results of the SIMREC project were seen to be relevant and important even up to the Helcom level. The seminar created an excellent basis for the planning of new joint projects, as manifold needs and opportunities for cooperation and joint development were identified.
Written by Justiina Halonen ja Annukka Lehikoinen. (Translated from a Finnish original version)
Halonen works as a research manager at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. Lehikoinen is the research director of the Kotka Maritime Research Centre (Merikotka).
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