ChemSAR Midterm Conference took place on 6th February in Helsinki, Finland. The aim of the conference was to get wide expert contribution within the BSR region, and beyond, to fulfil the project’s goal for common standardised guidelines for search and rescue operations in HNS incidents.
Project Coordinator Kirsi Laitio opened the conference. Kirsi introduced the ChemSAR project and told about the goals of the conference.The moderator of the conference was professor Lauri Ojala from University of Turku/School of EconomicsMarkku Mylly, Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency EMSA, told about EMSA’s marine pollution response services for oil and chemical spills.Loss Prevention Manager Tiina Kapulainen from Finnlines told about the dangerous goods procedures at Finnlines.In the panel discussion the complexity of chemical accidents and the challenges of the rescue operations were discussed. The panellists from the left: Danel Tüür (Estonian Police and Border Guard Board), Juho Kurttio (The Finnish Border Guard), Sari Nyroos (Centre for Maritime Studies, University of Turku), Teemu Niemelä (The Finnish Border Guard), Carolys Ramsay (Finnlines) and Markku Mylly (EMSA).The audience was actively involved in the discussion. Joaquin Maceiras from the Spanish Maritime Safety Agency Hoped that similar projects would begin elsewhere in Europe too, and stated out that it is important to spread information about ChemSAR outputs throughout the Europe.Philippe Rigaud from the Fire and Rescue Service of Pas de Calais.Toni Fohlin from the Helsinki City Rescure Department.Igor Kuzmenko representing the Lithuanian Navy.Tiia Jyräsalo from the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (TraFi) was representing the Priority Area Safe in the conference. She was explaining how ChemSAR project is also fulfilling the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, and that is why it is a flagship project of the PA Safe. The objective of PA Safe is for the Baltic Sea region to become a leading region for maritime safety and security
Many other participants took part in the conversion as well and we would like to thank all the participants for your contribution to our project. We are looking forward to see you again in our final conference in about a year.
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