doctoral thesis

Doctoral thesis: A novel toolbox for risk management in maritime remote pilotage

Sunil Basnet, a member of the Kotka Maritime Research Centre’s research community, will defend his doctoral dissertation on 15 December 2023 at Aalto University in the field of marine technology. The opponent will be Professor Ioannis M. Dokas, from the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. Mr. Basnet has conducted his thesis work as part of the Research Group on Safe and Efficient Marine and Ship Systems, led by Assistant Professor Osiris Valdez Banda, who also holds one of the Merikotka (KMRC) professorships.

The thesis, “Managing risks in maritime remote pilotage using the basis of the Formal Safety Assessment”, consists of four scientific articles and a summary section. Pilotage is a safety service intended to prevent ship accidents, providing navigational assistance by experienced pilots who know the local conditions. Remote pilotage is a relatively new concept, in which the pilot assists the ship crew from a remote location at the shore.

”The idea behind remote pilotage is to improve both safety and cost-effectiveness of the operation”, Sunil Basnet tells. “However, the implementation requires adoption of novel data and information sharing technologies both on ships, fairways, and pilot stations. The entity becoming more complex, this may lead to new emergent risks, requiring updates also in the prevailing safety control system”, he continues.

The thesis of Mr. Basnet presents a novel, improved risk management framework that provides a systematic protocol with practical analysis tools, applicable to the modern remote pilotage systems. The framework is fully compatible with the Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) process developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), widely used in risk assessment and management in the context of maritime operations.

“This study lays strong and comprehensive foundations for effective risk management in the evolving field of remote pilotage, where there haven’t been existing risk management framework so far”, Sunil Basnet states and continues: “Method-wise, presenting a novel approach of integrating advanced systems modelling techniques, my thesis even fills some common gaps in the application of the Formal Safety Assessment. This is important for advancing the overall safety of maritime systems and operations.”

The public defense is organized 15.12.2023 at 12:00 – 16:00 in the address Otakaari 4, Espoo (auditorium 216). The event can be followed also online via Zoom.

The thesis summary can be downloaded from the Aaltodoc publication archive.

 

Written by: Annukka Lehikoinen

Doctoral dissertation: Systems modelling can support the sustainable development of maritime traffic

The examination of MSc Emilia Luoma’s doctoral thesis in environmental sciences was organized at the University of Helsinki on October 28, 2022. Professor Nina Tynkkynen from Åbo Akademi’s Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics acted as the opponent. The research behind the dissertation has been conducted as part of the projects 30MILES and COMPLETE, led by Kotka Maritime Research Centre (Merikotka). Merikotka’s research director, Associate Professor (Docent) Annukka Lehikoinen was the main supervisor of Luoma’s work.

The thesis, “Developing sustainability through systems thinking – Perspectives to maritime traffic” consists of four scientific articles and a summary section. The entity aims to increase the systemic understanding related to sustainability and sustainable development by applying causal network modeling methods. The case study topics through which the subject is approached in the articles are the management of the biofouling on ships and the sustainable development of marinas. In the summary section Luoma concludes on how causal network modeling methods can help identify factors and measures that prevent or promote sustainability and sustainable development.

“Based on the results, I would say that both qualitative and numerical causal network models support the conceptualization and structuring of sustainability issues in a versatile way,” Luoma states and continues: “My statement is that such a systemic review can increase the understanding of who should be involved in the discussion, what information is needed and what aspects should be considered in order to make decisions that promote sustainable development. The visual representation of the models can also promote the participation of stakeholders and open communication”.

At the dissertation event, Opponent Tynkkynen praised Luoma’s cross-disciplinary thesis as containing information useful for planning and policymaking purposes and offering fresh perspectives on the topic of maritime traffic, which is usually considered from a rather technical perspective. Tynkkynen also hoped that corresponding, non-traditional, and cross-disciplinary approaches could be included in the coming update of the national strategy for maritime research in Finland.

The thesis summary can be downloaded from the University of Helsinki’s publication archive Helda.

 

Written by: Annukka Lehikoinen

Doctoral dissertation on the environmental impacts of seabed mining

M.Sc. Laura Kaikkonen defended her doctoral dissertation in the field of environmental sciences at the University of Helsinki on October 29, 2021. The opponent was Professor Anna Metaxas from the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University in Canada. One of the supervisors of Kaikkonen’s doctoral thesis has been Professor Sakari Kuikka – a member of the Kotka Maritime Research Centre’s management group, from the University of Helsinki. The thesis work was conducted as part of a sub-project led by Professor Kuikka, in the Smartsea project funded by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland.

The thesis, titled as “Risks out of depth? A study on the environmental impacts of seabed mining“, consists of four scientific articles and a summary section. Environmental risks associated with seabed mining are assessed in a comprehensive manner, from the structuring of the problem and the synthesis of existing knowledge to the development of a probabilistic risk analysis model. The last article of the entity addresses the attitudes of people towards the state of the mostly invisible and inaccessible seabed environments, and the damage caused to them by mining.

Seabed mining is expected to address globally the growing demand for mineral resources, created by – among other things – the growing battery industry. This creates a call for improved knowledge base and effective methods to support the assessment of the environmental impacts of the ocean mining operations and the need for their regulation. Kaikkonen’s dissertation offers scientifically valid solutions, data and reflection on the topic.

”As ocean mining activities are still in exploratory stages, there are significant uncertainties regarding the exploitation of mineral resources and its environmental impacts,” Kaikkonen says and continues by telling unrestricted mineral extraction can have far-reaching effects on the functioning of the marine ecosystems, which must be clarified before commercial activity can be considered. “An improved appreciation of the risks associated with emerging maritime industries is essential to avoid uncontrolled development and to ensure good status and stewardship of the marine environment,” emphasizes Laura Kaikkonen.

The thesis summary can be downloaded from the University of Helsinki’s publication archive Helda.

 

Written by: Annukka Lehikoinen