At the 15th Ministerial Session in Elsinore, Denmark on the 4th of June the Ministers welcomed the decision to set up an Expert Group on Maritime Policy intended to contribute to sustainable growth and employment in the maritime sector, to combine and better coordinate all sea-related activities and tasks, as well as to strike an appropriate balance between economic, social and ecological aspects.  In 2018, the Expert Group revised its Terms of Reference and changed its name to Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy (EGSME).

As an intergovernmental group of experts, the EGSME will through knowledge sharing seek to provide politically coordinated support to relevant efforts, concrete initiatives, actions and projects aimed at:

• Improvement of the Baltic Sea Region’s international competitiveness with regard to the development of a sustainable maritime economy
• Positioning of the Baltic Sea Region as a model region for maritime best practice and for a balanced co-existence of a successful sustainable maritime economy taking also into account socio-economic aspects and adequate protection of the vulnerable marine ecosystem
• Performing as an information hub for experience and knowledge exchange, providing a cross-sectoral approach and synergies between key actors in the field of maritime economy in the Baltic Sea Region.

In March 2018, the CBSS Member representatives from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the EU Commission were present alongside strategic partners and observers at the CBSS Secretariat in Stockholm for the meeting of the Expert Group on Maritime Policy.

The meeting was chaired by Mattias Rust from the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation and opened by Deputy Director General of the Council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat Maira Mora. In the morning session, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and the WWF gave presentations and perspectives to the discussion on Maritime Sustainability Indicators to the participants including the Baltic Sea Commission CPMR, BONUS, BSSSC and the NDPTL.

At the meeting, the name of the Expert Group on Maritime Policy was formally decided by the group to be updated to the new name of the Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy.

Read more about the meeting and find the presentations here.

On 5 September 2017, the CBSS Expert Group on Maritime Policy (EGMP) meeting was organized in the framework of the Donsö Shipping Meet (DSM) at Donsö Island, Sweden, in close cooperation with HELCOM and Zero Vision Tool (ZVT) and as an integral part of the Regional Cooperation Day, devoted to green shipping, technology and alternative fuels, the Blue Growth Agenda and the UN Sustainable Goals’ implementation in regard to maritime economy.

Together with other Baltic Sea Region maritime actors, the expert group members discussed maritime collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region, introduced the Integrated Maritime Sustainability Indicators and concretised the actions taken on the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 which the Sweden chose as the main focal point of EGMP’s work during its Presidency year.

Mattias Rust, Swedish Chair of the EGMP, assured that the future will be sustainable: “The one who delivers the solutions first will have the market – and our region is well placed to deliver [these solutions].”

Following up on this, a second EGMP meeting is envisaged in March 2018. At this meeting, the work done so far in regards to the Integrated Maritime Sustainability Indicators will be presented and elaborated. The aim is to get useful insights on how to measure maritime sustainability with the help of the SMART criteria (Specific – Measurable – Assignable – Realistic – Time-related) , to get an overview of who is doing what, and which national project might be of special interest for each entity represented.

During the day, the Green Team Network intended to bring in relevant shipping industry, cluster and research stakeholders from the BSR and to introduce them to the project, its work plan and the next steps taken. Additionally, HELCOM and the CBSS co-hosted a session on cooperation on alternative fuels, green ship technologies and incentives in the Baltic Sea, in which CBSS Senior Adviser, Daria Akhutina, presented the Swedish Presidency priorities and key questions on maritime policy in the framework of the CBSS long-term priority “Sustainable & Prosperous Region”.

The Regional Cooperation Day also included a site visit to the newly-built ship-to-ship LNG bunkering ship ‘Coralius’ which is the first one of its kind built in Europe and will be mainly operating in the North Sea, the Skagerak area and the Baltic Sea, providing  the ships with the most viable alternative fuel (LNG) for the reduction of emissions.

During the Icelandic Presidency, the annual meeting of the EGMP took for the first time since its establishment place in Iceland. Under the title “Maritime Policy: Sharing Knowledge“, the meeting gathered on 14 March 2017 about 20 participants from the different spheres connected to maritime economy such as representatives from the ministries, transport authorities, research and academia. Pursuing a cross-sectorial and multi-disciplinary approach, the meeting discussed topics ranging from maritime/coastal tourism, energy efficiency to green shipping, renewable fuels and innovative ship technology.

It was confirmed that the Baltic Sea Region has long-lasting rich maritime traditions and experience in close interaction and therefore, the cooperation in the field of maritime policy/economy has a vast potential and should be further developed and supported. The CBSS EGMP shall play an important role in this process, providing politically coordinated support to relevant efforts, concrete initiatives, actions and projects which improve the BSR’ international competitiveness in the sustainable maritime economy.

Moreover, the EGMP members acknowledged the great value of Iceland in the expert group’s work. The participation of Iceland in the EGMP was confirmed to be on permanent basis from now on.

Concluding, the upcoming Swedish Presidency informed the participants about the intention to hold two meetings of EGMP during its presidency period, in autumn and in spring, focusing on UN Agenda and the UN SDGs (namely, goal No. 14).

Following the decision of the Committee of Senior Officials on the prolongation of the EGMP mandate until mid-2018, the Expert Group on Maritime Policy revised its Terms of Reference in order to reshape its ability to serve as a value-added tool for regional cooperation. Key tasks will focus on keeping maritime issues on the member-states policy makers’ agenda, including initiating meetings of Ministers of Transport, exchanging information on the member-states’ national maritime policies and strategies, and promoting clean shipping in the Baltic Sea.

Three regular meetings and a thematic seminar have been held under the Polish EGMP Chairmanship, where amongst others Norway, Poland and Sweden presented their newly adopted national maritime policy documents. The Expert Group was present at the Barents Euro-Arctic Council Transport Ministerial Meeting in Arkhangelsk, Russia on 21 June 2016.

The EGMP continues positioning the CBSS as a valuable partner in Baltic Sea Maritime Dialogue, taking full account of the activities within the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (PA Ship and PA Safe) and the Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics. Within the frame of the Dialogue, the EGMP together with HELCOM Maritime Working Group organised the workshop Partnerships for Green Shipping during the European Maritime Day 2016 in Turku, Finland, which  aimed at promoting blue growth in shipping through partnerships, both public-private and business-to-business, whereas the business-to-business partnership was addressed by Zero Vision Tool (Sweden) and Napa Oy (Finland).

During the Polish CBSS Presidency the EGMP accepted the invitation to become an observer to the Reference Group of Zero Vision Tool (ZVT) – a collaboration method and tool for a safer, more environmental-friendly, energy efficient as well as more profitable transport at sea. The ZVT, developed in 2011, has its roots in Sweden, when in 2009 the Swedish Shipowners’ Association committed to the goals of the European Maritime Policy, as well as to the objectives of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

The ZVT Reference Group consists of representatives from government agencies and administrations, as well as industry representatives. Two other institutions that currently have the observer status are the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communication and the Swedish Ministry of Environment.

The Expert Group’s project orientation has been pursued though its participation in the International Steering Committee of the EUSBSR PA Ship, as well as by pre-selecting and suggesting relevant projects to be financed through the CBSS Project Support Facility (PSF). The “Small and medium-sized ports development challenges” project, led by Turku University, was approved for PSF funding during the Polish CBSS Presidency.

The Estonian chairmanship of the EGMP was carried out under the slogan “The Baltic Sea Connects” with the main focus on developing maritime transport links between small and medium size cargo ports, promoting the cruise industry in the region and creating a network and marketing strategy for yacht harbours.

14 June 2015, Jurmala, Latvia. Back-to-back with the EUSBSR Annual Forum, the EGMP co-organised the event “Promoting the Maritime Dimension in the Baltic Sea Cooperation” together with HA Neighbours, City of Turku, DG Mare, DG Regio, Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), EUSBSR PA Safe and PA Ship. After welcoming words by Mikko Lohikosi, City of Turku, a panel discussion provided the delegation with a perspective from the European Commission. A number of key actors of the maritime sector spoke on ongoing actions and initiatives, which are dedicated to sustainable shipping, the digitalisation of maritime safety and regional cooperation. The event opened a discussion on issues, which also had a high profile during the Annual Forum in Jurmala 15- 16 June, where several panels and workshops addressed the topics of blue growth, maritime safety and initiatives for a cleaner Baltic Sea.

14 April 2015, Tallinn. Representatives of the EGMP Member States discussed the future work of the Group and concluded the drafting of the Concept Note.

30 January 2015, Tallinn. The 15th meeting of the EGMP took place in Tallinn on 30 January 2015, which hosted a number of guest speakers focusing on the cruise industry and maritime transport links in the Baltic Sea Region.

Development and use of green technology and alternative fuels in shipping in the Baltic Sea

Organised by The Finnish Presidency of the CBSS and HELCOM, in cooperation with the Baltic Development Forum (BDF) and the Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics (NDPTL), a conference on “Sustainable Baltic Sea shipping, green technology and alternative fuels with focus on air emissions” took place on board the LNG fuelled passenger ship Viking Grace on 16th January 2014. The event brought together nearly 100 participants from the public and private sectors, policy makers, administrations, the business community, the finance expertise and research & development representatives. The aim of the conference was to develop a “Draft Roadmap for future actions”. The discussions focused on two main themes: technology development, and financial issues to promote pilot projects, acquisition of ships and retrofitting, as well as R & D in this field. A new cooperation forum, the “Green Technology and Alternative Fuels Platform in Baltic Sea Shipping” was also launched at the event. The Platform provides a forum for a structured dialogue between the public sector and the private stakeholders.

On September 28, 2012 the Expert Group on Maritime Policy convened in Moscow for its 10^th regular meeting, which was the first one under Russia’s CBSS presidency 2012-2013. The meeting was chaired by the State Policy Department on Maritime and River Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. The Russian Chairmanship outlined its main priority topics for the Expert Group as well as its work calendar:

A. – Implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM) in the context of measures aimed at improving the ecological situation in the Baltic Sea region – 10^th EGMP meeting, Moscow, 28 September 2012

B. – Maritime traffic management and surveillance in the Baltic Sea region as an effective safety and security component minimizing negative impact on the environment – 11^th EGMP meeting, St.-Petersburg, 15 November 2012

C. – Implementation of annex VI of the MARPOL Convention-74/78 in the Baltic Sea region: first results and expectations – 12^th EGMP Kaliningrad, 1^st Quarter 2013 (March) back to back with a EGMP Workshop   Ms. Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of HELCOM, has been invited by the Chair as guest speaker and observer.