Growth in Merchant Ships Rescuing Migrants: ECSA
European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA)'s Maritime Security Working Group recently had an exchange of views with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in Warsaw on maritime security issues. The Shipping industry is directly affected by challenges, such as migrants at sea. Whereas the number of migrants rescued from the sea has gone down from the peak-year of 2015, merchant vessels are still often involved in the Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in central, western and eastern Mediterranean. Concerning the “Operation Triton” of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, in 2016, out of all 1629 incidents, 4% involved merchant vessels assistance while in 2017 out of 470 so far the share is 12%.
ECSA Leads Holistic Approach to Maritime Security
European shipowners have widened the scope of the former European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) Piracy Working Group, now renamed ECSA Maritime Security Working Group in a move aiming to keep the European shipping industry abreast of maritime developments. According to ECSA, topics under the remit of the new working group range from piracy and armed robbery at sea to cyber security, as well as the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean, where European shipowners have taken center stage in the efforts to rescue migrants at sea.
DNV GL’s Arctic Map Shows Complex Risk Picture
The world’s need for energy is driving interest in further industrial activity in the Arctic, yet the region’s conditions are highly variable depending on the type of activity, location and time of year. This creates a complex risk picture. DNV GL, a technical advisor to the oil and gas industry, has therefore developed an interactive Arctic Risk Map to present the risks associated with offshore and maritime activities in the Arctic. The map aims to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive tool for decision-making and transparent communications.
