Papers by Jennie Larsson
Evaluating Maritime Education and Training Needs for Tanker Shipping Companies
INTED2019 Proceedings
Maritime transport is often termed as the backbone of globalization. The quick advancement of thi... more Maritime transport is often termed as the backbone of globalization. The quick advancement of this multi-complex phenomenon and the respective growth of commerce, have also contributed into a substantial increase in the number of ships operating at sea. In turn, this has the potential to cause a proportional rise in maritime accidents, with negative impacts both to human life and the marine environment. Tankers, as important as they may be for seaborne transportation, are associated with considerable risks because of the nature of the cargoes they carry, with petroleum products standing out. During the transportation task, including the handling of cargo and especially loading/unloading, operations involved must be carried out in a fault-free fashion. "Cutting corners", or oversight of the established safety rules, could form the basis of truly devastating outcomes. When analyses of maritime accidents over time are carefully examined, a fact that remains constant is that human factors still remain the prime cause of those events. Considering this fact together with the increase in number of tankers that was previously pointed out, it is evident that improving the operational performance of seafarers via tailor made training has an utmost importance; ensuring the quality of current maritime education and training offerings is also another vital task. Taking all necessary measures to ensure the safe conduct of navigation is one of the major tasks of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The organization fulfils this task through the provisions of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, working together with the so called IMO model courses. Due to the very high risks involved in tankers' operations, seafarers employed in this type of ships need to perform well above the accepted standards set by the IMO. Relying on minimum standards cannot provide a reliable solution and special mandatory training should also be integrated for personnel on tanker ships, in accordance off course with STCW. In an effort to ensure that the crew on board tankers has all the necessary competences to perform at the highest level of safety, tanker companies should provide additional trainings to crew members via an "internal training program", after recruiting them and before being assigned official duties on board the ship. The analysis in hand focuses on the compulsory tanker trainings established by the STCW Convention, in conjunction with additional trainings commonly offered by tanker shipping companies. The study will firstly identify and briefly discuss all mandatory trainings listed in the convention. It will then investigate the contents of the special training courses to assess their conformity with the overall aims of the STCW Convention and especially evaluate their expected learning outcomes. The results showed that a great majority of maritime shipping accidents have been caused by operational mistakes and errors as well as lack of knowledge of the crew. Safety of ships, quality of the crew and companies and environmental protection can be sustained only through training. This study was conducted through a Descriptive Research Methodology approach and methods of data collection have been literature review and review of compulsory tanker trainings, as well as analysis of accident reports.
Division of Responsibilities between countries Country National Contingency Plan Authority respon... more Division of Responsibilities between countries Country National Contingency Plan Authority responsible for NCP Main responsible organisation at sea Main responsible organisation on land Main responsible organisation in ports Denmark Yes Defence Command Denmark Defence Command Denmark Municipalities Local councils Germany Yes Central Command for Maritime Emergencies Central Command for Maritime Emergencies Regional Environmental Authorities
Maritime Education and Training Activities: Improving Oil Spill Response in the South Baltic Sea Region
INTED Proceedings, 2018
Large oil spills, such as the ones associated with the “Prestige” and “Deepwater Horizon” inciden... more Large oil spills, such as the ones associated with the “Prestige” and “Deepwater Horizon” incidents, are responsible for very significant environmental degradation. Globally, there is no country with enough resources and equipment to respond to an extremely large oil spill on its own. An oil spill on land is commonly considered a national issue/problem. In contrast, an oil spill at sea is usually of international character and will require outside assistance and cooperation across borders. This is especially true when special equipment that is missing in one country can be found in a neighboring country. The SBOIL project (South Baltic Oil spill response) started in 2016 and will run for three years. It is a continuation of the research project BioBind within which an “environmental friendly” concept was developed to respond efficiently to an oil spill at sea. This concept is based on biodegradable oil binders (bio-binders) which are deployed by plane and then removed with a special net boom. Within the project under discussion, the concept of Bio-Binders will be assessed as a cross-border spill response tool in order to strengthen existing response capacities in the South Baltic Sea region. During the first two years of the SBOIL project, a training handbook which summarizes basic knowledge about oil spills, response measures and structural approaches of the individual South Baltic countries has been produced. This handbook is intended as a guide/training tool mainly for local/regional and even national incident managers. At the same time, a detailed report on the international legal framework for usage of sorbents in oil spill response has been developed. Furthermore, in the year 2018 an international table top exercise will be developed and implemented together with project partners from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as local, regional and national stakeholders involved in oil spill preparedness and response from the countries around the South Baltic Sea. The exercise will focus on operational aspects of using new and so called “green technology” in oil spill response. Outcomes of the exercise will be documented and used for future improvements in relation to emergency response management.
Maritime Technology and Research, 2020
Occurrences of oil spills are responsible for very significant environmental degradation; they ar... more Occurrences of oil spills are responsible for very significant environmental degradation; they are more likely to happen in areas with dense shipping traffic, or in close vicinity of transport pipelines and/or other infrastructures used for production and processing purposes. Without international cooperation, individual countries often lack sufficient resources and assets to successfully respond to large-scale oil spill incidents. This can be related to the vast quantities of oil involved in those incidents or the lack of necessary special equipment for dealing with the tasks at hand by the country under the need to respond. For successful resolution of oil spill incidents, close and effective international cooperation -especially between neighboring countries that usually “share the burden” of oil pollution- is a vital necessity. On this basis, the South Baltic Oil (SBOIL) project aims to strengthen the existing oil spill response capacities in the South Baltic region, introducing...
This Research explores the effectiveness of Criminal Sanctions for combating Illegal, Unregulated... more This Research explores the effectiveness of Criminal Sanctions for combating Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fisheries from a policy perspective. It focuses on the problem identification of whether or not we should keep criminal sanctions as a choice in the current harmonization of sanctions for combating IUU fishing. In order to answer the research problem previously outlined, two research questions and five objectives were formulated: Question 1: Why are we heading towards an administrative system in IUU fishing rather than harmonizing criminal sanctions? Question 2: What are the shortcomings in the criminal system and how could it become more effective?
Country National Contingency Plan Authority responsible for NCP Main responsible organisation at ... more Country National Contingency Plan Authority responsible for NCP Main responsible organisation at sea Main responsible organisation on land Main responsible organisation in ports Denmark Yes Defence Command Denmark Defence Command Denmark Municipalities Local councils Germany Yes Central Command for Maritime Emergencies Central Command for Maritime Emergencies
13th International Technology, Education and Development Conference Proceedings, pp. 2024-2032, 2019
Maritime transport is often termed as the backbone of globalization. The quick advancement of thi... more Maritime transport is often termed as the backbone of globalization. The quick advancement of this multi-complex phenomenon and the respective growth of commerce, have also contributed into a substantial increase in the number of ships operating at sea. In turn, this has the potential to cause a proportional rise in maritime accidents, with negative impacts both to human life and the marine environment. Tankers, as important as they may be for seaborne transportation, are associated with considerable risks because of the nature of the cargoes they carry, with petroleum products standing out. During the transportation task, including the handling of cargo and especially loading/unloading, operations involved must be carried out in a fault-free fashion. "Cutting corners", or oversight of the established safety rules, could form the basis of truly devastating outcomes. When analyses of maritime accidents over time are carefully examined, a fact that remains constant is that human factors still remain the prime cause of those events. Considering this fact together with the increase in number of tankers that was previously pointed out, it is evident that improving the operational performance of seafarers via tailor made training has an utmost importance; ensuring the quality of current maritime education and training offerings is also another vital task. Taking all necessary measures to ensure the safe conduct of navigation is one of the major tasks of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The organization fulfils this task through the provisions of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, working together with the so called IMO model courses. Due to the very high risks involved in tankers' operations, seafarers employed in this type of ships need to perform well above the accepted standards set by the IMO. Relying on minimum standards cannot provide a reliable solution and special mandatory training should also be integrated for personnel on tanker ships, in accordance off course with STCW. In an effort to ensure that the crew on board tankers has all the necessary competences to perform at the highest level of safety, tanker companies should provide additional trainings to crew members via an "internal training program", after recruiting them and before being assigned official duties on board the ship. The analysis in hand focuses on the compulsory tanker trainings established by the STCW Convention, in conjunction with additional trainings commonly offered by tanker shipping companies. The study will firstly identify and briefly discuss all mandatory trainings listed in the convention. It will then investigate the contents of the special training courses to assess their conformity with the overall aims of the STCW Convention and especially evaluate their expected learning outcomes. The results showed that a great majority of maritime shipping accidents have been caused by operational mistakes and errors as well as lack of knowledge of the crew. Safety of ships, quality of the crew and companies and environmental protection can be sustained only through training. This study was conducted through a Descriptive Research Methodology approach and methods of data collection have been literature review and review of compulsory tanker trainings, as well as analysis of accident reports.
13th International Technology, Education and Development Conference Proceedings, pp. 1089-1097, 2019
The IMO (International Maritime Organisation) allocates significant efforts through conventions a... more The IMO (International Maritime Organisation) allocates significant efforts through conventions and other interventions of a legal nature to regulate the operational environments and requirements of training for crew working on board ships, as well as for personnel working ashore; these efforts are having a positive effect and the level of safety in relation to shipping operations has increased overtime. Although the number of oil spills across the world has a decreasing trend, risks posed by oil spills still remain as major concerns for societies, around the world. These concerns arise from the possible damages to ecology and economy, as well as by considering the adverse impacts related to sociocultural and psycho-social aspects. A risk when oil spills doesn't occur that often and then do and becomes of international character, is that operational personnel might lack field experience and be less prepared. Recent major accidents, such as the "Prestige" and "Deepwater Horizon" have emphasized the importance of the associated response activities and training needs among operational personnel. The South Baltic Oil Spill Response project (SBOIL) is a three year (2016-2019) European Union (EU) funded initiative, which is planned as a continuation of the BioBind project. Within the scope of that project, the BioBind system was established to ensure fast and effective oil spill response in any sea state condition by the use of a new more environmental friendly sorbent technique. The goals of the SBOIL are to enhance the existing response capacities using the BioBind system and to identify important gaps in international oil spill response by using a table top exercise training. In November 2018, a Table Top Exercise (TTX) on testing a new oil spill response technique across borders was held in, Świnoujście, Poland. Under the framework of the SBOIL project, this international training exercise (in the form of a facilitated workshop) was organised in collaboration with the project partners from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as local, regional and national stakeholders involved in oil spill preparedness and response from the various countries around the South Baltic Sea. The purpose of the training was to identify operational aspects of using new and so called "green technology" in oil spill response and to provid local authorities and national incident management centres with knowledge to address areas of oil spill response improvement. With this aim, an incident exercise scenario was used to test the compatibility of International/National/Regional plans, prove command and control procedures of a cross-border incident and identify-improve tactical decision-making processes. The analysis in hand presents the setup of the TTX, as well as results and recommendations for the future. It also aims to highlight the training needs in cross-border collaboration and increase awareness regarding oil spills and their consequences. According to the results from the training, the use of the BioBind material is promising; the main challenge in relation to the use of this "new technology application" was the difficulty involved with waste management, mainly because of the current legislation in place within the participating countries. It also showed that without this kind of training's, none of the gaps would have been discovered. The table top exercise was conducted through an action research approach.
Large oil spills, such as the ones associated with the " Prestige " and " Deepwater Horizon " inc... more Large oil spills, such as the ones associated with the " Prestige " and " Deepwater Horizon " incidents, are responsible for very significant environmental degradation. Globally, there is no country with enough resources and equipment to respond to an extremely large oil spill on its own. An oil spill on land is commonly considered a national issue/problem. In contrast, an oil spill at sea is usually of international character and will require outside assistance and cooperation across borders. This is especially true when special equipment that is missing in one country can be found in a neighboring country. The SBOIL project (South Baltic Oil spill response) started in 2016 and will run for three years. It is a continuation of the research project BioBind within which an " environmental friendly " concept was developed to respond efficiently to an oil spill at sea. This concept is based on biodegradable oil binders (bio-binders) which are deployed by plane and then removed with a special net boom. Within the project under discussion, the concept of Bio-Binders will be assessed as a cross-border spill response tool in order to strengthen existing response capacities in the South Baltic Sea region. During the first two years of the SBOIL project, a training handbook which summarizes basic knowledge about oil spills, response measures and structural approaches of the individual South Baltic countries has been produced. This handbook is intended as a guide/training tool mainly for local/regional and even national incident managers. At the same time, a detailed report on the international legal framework for usage of sorbents in oil spill response has been developed. Furthermore, in the year 2018 an international table top exercise will be developed and implemented together with project partners from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as local, regional and national stakeholders involved in oil spill preparedness and response from the countries around the South Baltic Sea. The exercise will focus on operational aspects of using new and so called " green technology " in oil spill response. Outcomes of the exercise will be documented and used for future improvements in relation to emergency response management.
Climate change and diminishing sea ice pave the way towards increased human activities in the wid... more Climate change and diminishing sea ice pave the way towards increased human activities in the wider Arctic region. However, these new opportunities for shipping, tourism, energy exploration and various other sectors also involve risks, with ship accidents and oil spills standing out. The status quo pressing problem concerns habitat degradation, and other negative impacts on the Arctic environment, as well as the implementation of stricter maritime preparedness and environmental regulations. Following the introduction of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code) and related amendments, it has become crucial for the Arctic States to emphasize on improving the prevention and crisis management regime pertaining to large maritime emergency incidents. The MARPART project on maritime preparedness and international partnership in the High North is an ongoing research project concerning Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, and Russia. The principle objective is to map and highlight the challenges of large-scale emergencies in an Arctic context and recommend improvements in the preparedness and crisis management domains. One part of the project, MARPART-2 MAN, is focused on the development of competence needs coupled with gaps related to the competence of personnel at the on-scene tactical level, mission coordination at the operational level, and staff management at regional and national strategic level. To that end, a comparative study has been conducted among five countries that have operational experiences regarding large-scale incidents in extremely cold climate areas. The World Maritime University (WMU) has been responsible for the review of the Swedish emergency response capacities. The assessment concerns mapping current educational programs and training within Swedish emergency management in academic and professional training institutions with a special focus on the High North. The outcome identified important gaps between the demand side competence needs and the supply side within emergency management education. WMU, with its capacity-building focus, is playing a pivot role in the following areas: a) designing new educational activities, training, and exercises which aims to fill this gap, and b) developing concepts and tools for simulation for improving the crisis management of large maritime emergency actions
Conference Presentations by Jennie Larsson
Large oil spills, such as the ones associated with the “Prestige” and “Deepwater Horizon” inciden... more Large oil spills, such as the ones associated with the “Prestige” and “Deepwater Horizon” incidents, are responsible for very significant environmental degradation. Globally, there is no country with enough resources and equipment to respond to an extremely large oil spill on its own. An oil spill on land is commonly considered a national issue/problem. In contrast, an oil spill at sea is usually of international character and will require outside assistance and cooperation across borders. This is especially true when special equipment that is missing in one country can be found in a neighboring country.
The SBOIL project (South Baltic Oil spill response) started in 2016 and will run for three years. It is a continuation of the research project BioBind within which an “environmental friendly” concept was developed to respond efficiently to an oil spill at sea. This concept is based on biodegradable oil binders (bio-binders) which are deployed by plane and then removed with a special net boom. Within the project under discussion, the concept of Bio-Binders will be assessed as a cross-border spill response tool in order to strengthen existing response capacities in the South Baltic Sea region.
During the first two years of the SBOIL project, a training handbook which summarizes basic knowledge about oil spills, response measures and structural approaches of the individual South Baltic countries has been produced. This handbook is intended as a guide/training tool mainly for local/regional and even national incident managers. At the same time, a detailed report on the international legal framework for usage of sorbents in oil spill response has been developed.
Furthermore, in the year 2018 an international table top exercise will be developed and implemented together with project partners from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as local, regional and national stakeholders involved in oil spill preparedness and response from the countries around the South Baltic Sea. The exercise will focus on operational aspects of using new and so called “green technology” in oil spill response. Outcomes of the exercise will be documented and used for future improvements in relation to emergency response management.
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Papers by Jennie Larsson
Conference Presentations by Jennie Larsson
The SBOIL project (South Baltic Oil spill response) started in 2016 and will run for three years. It is a continuation of the research project BioBind within which an “environmental friendly” concept was developed to respond efficiently to an oil spill at sea. This concept is based on biodegradable oil binders (bio-binders) which are deployed by plane and then removed with a special net boom. Within the project under discussion, the concept of Bio-Binders will be assessed as a cross-border spill response tool in order to strengthen existing response capacities in the South Baltic Sea region.
During the first two years of the SBOIL project, a training handbook which summarizes basic knowledge about oil spills, response measures and structural approaches of the individual South Baltic countries has been produced. This handbook is intended as a guide/training tool mainly for local/regional and even national incident managers. At the same time, a detailed report on the international legal framework for usage of sorbents in oil spill response has been developed.
Furthermore, in the year 2018 an international table top exercise will be developed and implemented together with project partners from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as local, regional and national stakeholders involved in oil spill preparedness and response from the countries around the South Baltic Sea. The exercise will focus on operational aspects of using new and so called “green technology” in oil spill response. Outcomes of the exercise will be documented and used for future improvements in relation to emergency response management.
The SBOIL project (South Baltic Oil spill response) started in 2016 and will run for three years. It is a continuation of the research project BioBind within which an “environmental friendly” concept was developed to respond efficiently to an oil spill at sea. This concept is based on biodegradable oil binders (bio-binders) which are deployed by plane and then removed with a special net boom. Within the project under discussion, the concept of Bio-Binders will be assessed as a cross-border spill response tool in order to strengthen existing response capacities in the South Baltic Sea region.
During the first two years of the SBOIL project, a training handbook which summarizes basic knowledge about oil spills, response measures and structural approaches of the individual South Baltic countries has been produced. This handbook is intended as a guide/training tool mainly for local/regional and even national incident managers. At the same time, a detailed report on the international legal framework for usage of sorbents in oil spill response has been developed.
Furthermore, in the year 2018 an international table top exercise will be developed and implemented together with project partners from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as local, regional and national stakeholders involved in oil spill preparedness and response from the countries around the South Baltic Sea. The exercise will focus on operational aspects of using new and so called “green technology” in oil spill response. Outcomes of the exercise will be documented and used for future improvements in relation to emergency response management.