583

1 INTRODUCTION

There are two large Polish sea ports on the coast of the

Gulf of Gdańsk: Gdańsk and Gdynia. Their share (in

thousands of tons and percentages) in the total

amount of cargo handled in Polish seaports is

presented in Table 1. Table 2 shows the number of

seagoing vessels handled in these ports.

Table 1. Share of the ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia in the

total amount of cargo handled in Polish seaports [21].

_______________________________________________

Year Units All Polish Gdańsk Gdynia Gdańsk &

ports Gdynia

_______________________________________________

2016 Thousands 72926.2 31566.2 17751.1 49317.3

of tonnes

% 100 43.3 24.3 67.6

2019 Thousands

of tonnes 93864.4 45521.9 20547.7 66069.6

% 100 48.5 21.9 70.4

_______________________________________________

Table 2. The number of seagoing vessels handled in the

ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia [21].

_______________________________________________

Year Units All Polish Gdańsk Gdynia Gdańsk &

ports Gdynia

_______________________________________________

2016 Number 18928 3274 3956 7230

% 100 17.3 20.9 38.2

2019 Number 20800 3927 4283 8210

% 100 18.9 20.6 39.5

_______________________________________________

Port of Gdańsk is the only Polish port with deep

water terminals for container ships (Deepwater

Container Terminal - DCT), bulk carriers and tankers

with maximum draft allowing to enter the Baltic Sea

through the Danish Straits.

The main routes of ships equipped with Automatic

Identification System (AIS) to the ports of Gdańsk and

Gdynia in the Gulf of Gdańsk and in the waters

directly adjacent to it are shown in Figure 1 [10, 18].

They intersect the route to the Russian ports of the

Kaliningrad region in the Gulf of Gdańsk and the

routes along the Polish coast to and from the ports in

the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. It should be noted

that over 50% of the cargo handled in the ports of

Gdańsk and Gdynia (approximately 53% in 2019)

Ships’ Routes to Polish Ports of the Gulf of Gdańsk

R. Wawruch

Gdynia Maritime University, Gdynia, Poland

ABSTRACT: The paper discusses ships’ routes to Polish ports in the Gulf of Gdańsk determined on the basis of

data obtained from the Baltic Ship Monitoring System by means of AIS coast stations and defined by the Baltic

Sea Hydrographic Commission (BSHC). The measures to regulate maritime traffic implemented by the Polish

maritime administration in order to reduce the identified risk of groundings and ship collisions are presented,

as well as the author's opinion on their effectiveness.

http://www.transnav.eu

the

International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 15

Number 3

Sept

ember 2021

DOI: 10.12716/1001.15.03.11

584

comes from or is destined for ports located west and

north of the Gulf of Gdańsk [21]. For this reason and

due to the depth limitations in the southern part of the

Baltic Proper along the Polish coast, one of the most

important tasks of the Polish maritime administration

was determining a safe route for ships sailing to the

analysed ports from western directions, mainly from

the Danish Straits.

Figure 1. Routes of ships equipped with Automatic

Identification System (AIS) to and from the ports of Gdańsk

and Gdynia in the Gulf of Gdańsk and in the waters directly

adjacent to it [10, 18].

2 DEPTHS AND ENVIRONMENTAL AND

WEATHER CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTHERN

PART OF THE BALTIC PROPER

2.1 Depths and environmental conditions

The south-western part of the Baltic Sea consists of the

large shallow water area - Pomeranian Bay with the

depths less than 30 m and offshore banks between the

Island of Bornholm and western part of the Polish

coast: Adlergrund (Rønne Bank) and Oder Bank with

a minimum depth of 4.6 m. To the north, the

Pomeranian Bay is separated from the Adlergrund

with a minimum depth of 5.8 m by a narrow channel

more than 20 m deep and 7 Nm wide. Further east,

approximately 12 Nm north of the central Polish

coast, the large offshore Słupska Bank (600 km2) is

located. The bank is largely determined by the 20 m

depth contour with a minimum depth of 8.2 m. A

narrow channel more than 20 m deep and 5 Nm wide

separates Słupska Bank from the coastal waters, which

are scattered with irregular smaller shoals and

numerous wrecks and stones [9, 11].

On the open German and Polish coastline a

numerous nature reserves and land-sea protected

areas are situated: Biosphere Reserve of South Eastern

Rügen Island and Jasmund National Park on the

German shore and Słowiński National Park (UNESCO

186.18 km² Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Reserve)

and Woliński National Park on the Polish shore.

Adlerground and Oder and Słupska Banks are also

very important habitats for unique fauna and flora

species. The ecological significance of these areas is

recognized by several networks: Baltic Sea Protected

Areas (BSPAs) established by Baltic Marine

Environment Protection Commission, Ramsar

introduced according to The Convention on Wetlands

and Areas of Natura 2000 network. They represent an

important habitat for non-commercial and commercial

fish stocks, including freshwater fish species and a

spawning and nursery ground for, for example,

herring and different species of flatfish. More than

one million seabirds winter in these areas,

representing the most important wintering site in the

whole Baltic Sea and the largest concentration of

wintering seaducks in Europe. Described areas are

further considered of global importance to the

Slavonian grebe, the long-tailed duck, the velvet

scoter and the Baltic race of the black guillemot. The

unique importance of discussed areas for wintering

waterbirds makes them one of the most sensitive areas

to oil pollution in European waters. Even small oil

spills could kill thousands of waterbirds. Scientific

studies on the distribution of harbour porpoises

indicate that during the early summer, which is the

breading season for mammals, high concentrations of

oil could potentially threaten an estimated 15% of this

endemic population. A major oil spill would seriously

harm local fishermen and would be a blow to the

tourist industry as part of the main economic

backbone in these areas [9, 12].

2.2 Weather conditions

There are no tides in the Baltic Sea, however, seasonal

variations in the water level can exceed 1.5 m due to

changes in atmospheric pressure and winds. There is a

weak east-going surface current (average speed 0.2-0.5

kn) along the Polish coast disturbed by strong winds.

Sea ice may form in January and February, mainly in

coastal areas. The mean number of days with fog

oscillates between 15 days per year in the area near

Adlergrund and 56 days per year near Słupska Bank.

Most frequently restricted visibility occurs in the

winter. Predominant directions of wind are SW, W

and NW. Storms, defined by the criteria that the mean

wind speed is at least 17 m/s, occur for 2% of the time.

They are most common from November to March. In

November storms prevail for 9% of the time and

strong winds (11-16 m/s) for 32% of the time. During

the last 15 years, the wind speed has shown an

increasing trend [9, 12].

Wave motion in the Southern Baltic is strongly

related to wind and swell. Studies of sea waves in the

Baltic Proper (i.e. BASYS or MAXWAVE project) have

yielded in a unique set of time series of free-surface

elevation records obtained by wave rider (WR) and

directional wave rider (DWR) buoys, located at

several points placed along the Baltic coastline

including Polish areas [1, 14]. At Varnkevitz

observation station near Adlergrund, the highest

significant wave height was 2.0 m, whereas the

significant wave height exceeding 1.0 m occurred 8%

of the time and a wave height greater than 1.5 m

occurred 2% of the time, respectively. The largest

waves come from the NW and NNE directions. The

greatest measured height of an individual wave was

2.7 m. For the area of Lubiatowo located in the central

part of Polish coast, the biggest measured height of an

individual wave was 7.6 m and the highest significant

wave height was 4.0 m. The significant wave height

exceeding 1.0 m occurred 29% of the time and greater

585

than 2.0 m - 6% of the time. The total set of 330

extreme waves has been observed among 19664

records. It has been found that the majority of the

largest observed waves came from the W and NNE

directions [9, 12]. Issued by the Hydrographic Office

of the Polish Navy Sailing Directions, Volume Baltic

Sea-Southern Part, informs that sea waves in an

offshore area may achieve during the storms the

height of 9 m [6]. According to information received

from European Maritime Pilot Association – EMPA,

research carried out for the tankers proves that such

type of vessels of approximate size of 17,000 DWT and

draught of 9 m will suffer a total reduction of under-

keel clearance equal approximately to 5 m on a waves

of height about 4.5 m and 10 s period.

3 SHIPS ROUTES TO THE POLISH PORTS IN THE

GULF OF GDAŃSK

3.1 Vessel traffic statistics

There are three options for sailing from the Western

Baltic and the Danish Straits to the ports in the Gulf of

Gdańsk:

− Through the Bornholmsgat between the Island of

Bornholm and the coast of Sweden;

− Between the Bornholm and shallow water area

Słupska Bank; and

− Between Słupska Bank and Polish coast.

Bornholmsgat has no depths limitations. It is the

main route for ships proceeding to and from the ports

of the Eastern Baltic Sea and is characterized by a high

volume of traffic. The passage between Bornholm

Island and Słupska Bank extends the route to Gdańsk

and Gdynia and will be hampered in the future by

wind farms planned to be built in the water area north

and northeast of Słupska Bank. The possibilities of

passing south from Słupska Bank depend on the draft

of the ship and the current hydro-meteorological

conditions.

Through the area between the Bornholm Island

and Polish coast approximately 16 000 ships equipped

with AIS are passing on a yearly basis. The statistical

profile of ships includes 67.9 % cargo ships, 16.3 %

tankers and 4.5 % passenger ships. The main

destinations of eastbound vessels in transit include the

ports situated in the Gulf of Gdańsk (32%-38%),

Klaipeda and Liepaja (20%-23%) and Russian ports in

the Kaliningrad region (19%-20%). The crossing traffic

operates to ports on the Bornholm Island and to the

ports of Scandinavian countries (mainly ferry

connections). Additionally, large fishing activities are

in place in the area off Central Polish coast, which

contributes to the traffic picture. Approximately 8500

vessels yearly trades between Western Baltic ports or

entrances to the Baltic Sea and ports in the Gulf of

Gdańsk, passing along central Polish coast. Some 20%

of that traffic passes North of Słupska Bank and the

rest of it uses the gateway south of Słupska Bank.

Tankers represent 17% of all traffic in that area.

Approximately 13% of the vessels have a draught of 7

metres or more and 8% a draft of 8 metres and more

[9, 12].

More information, based on data received from the

vessel monitoring system using the Baltic network of

the AIS shore stations, on vessel traffic along the

Polish coast and a comparison of the traffic density in

waters north and south of Bornholm Island can be

found in [16–18, 22].

3.2 BSHC harmonized Plan for Hydrographic Surveys

The main ships routes to the ports of the Gulf of

Gdańsk are included in the Harmonized Re-survey

Hydrographic Plan of the states - parties to the

Convention on the Protection of the Marine

Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (Helsinki

Convention) of 1992. The Baltic states were obliged to

introduce and maintain such a plan of systematic

hydrographic surveys in the areas most frequently

visited by ships and in ports by the Declaration on the

Safety of Navigation and Emergency Capacity in the

Baltic Sea Area of 10 September 2001, known as the

Copenhagen Declaration of the Helsinki Commission

- HELCOM Copenhagen Declaration. The

development of the agreed survey scheme was

entrusted to the hydrographic services of the Baltic

states associated in the Baltic Sea Hydrographic

Commission - BSHC. In 2002, the BSHC developed

the first Harmonized Hydrographic Survey Plan,

which included the usual shipping routes to the main

Baltic ports. Due to the lack of tools for assessing the

real ship traffic at that time, the routes were

estimated. After the introduction of Automatic

Identification System (AIS) devices in 2002 as

mandatory equipment on commercial sea vessels, it

became possible for coastal states to monitor the

actual movement of ships in the Baltic, based on the

receipt of ships’ AIS messages via a network of coastal

stations of this system. Moreover, in the period from

the signing of the Copenhagen Declaration in 2001,

the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

adopted, at the request of the Baltic states, many new

and amended shipping route, technically suited to the

image of actual vessel traffic obtained from the

analysis of received AIS messages. Consequently, the

BSHC introduced significant changes to the

Harmonized Survey Plan in 2008, which was also

modified in the following years. Currently, the

surveyed waters are divided into 3 categories,

including:

− Category I (CAT I) - primary survey area covering

the main shipping lanes to seaports;

− Category II (CAT II) - additional areas that should

be surveyed in order to ensure the safety of

navigation; and

− Category III (CAT III) - other areas that should be

surveyed for other reasons, e.g. protection of the

marine environment.

Figure 2. The main ships routes to the ports of the Gulf of

Gdańsk inside the Polish maritime area included in the

586

current version of the Harmonized Plan for Hydrographic

Surveys prepared by BSHC [23].

The main ships routes to the ports of the Gulf of

Gdańsk inside the Polish maritime area included in

the current version of the Harmonized Plan for

Hydrographic Surveys prepared by BSHC are shown

in Figure 2. The letter and colour markings of

individual routes and their sections are related to their

category and the current state of survey work.

These routes correspond to the shipping routes

shown in Figure 3, determined on the basis of data

from the AIS system [17,22].

Figure 3. Routes of ships fitted with AIS in the southern part

of the Baltic Proper [17,22].

3.3 SRS, TSS and VTS in the Gulf of Gdańsk

The Gulf of Gdańsk is not only a region of great

importance for the national economy with respect to a

number of branches, from ship and cargo handling in

two largest Polish ports and shipbuilding industry to

tourism and recreation, but also a very vulnerable

ecosystem. Beginning from the Hel Peninsula and

around gulf coastline up to the Vistula Split,

following protected areas, including surrounding

coastal waters, were established as Baltic Sea

Protected Areas (HELCOM BSPA): Coastal National

Park with a Puck Bay, Three Cities Landscape Park,

Redłowo Clif Reserve and Vistula Split Landscape

Park. The region of a special attention is the internal

part of the Puck Bay, a unique site on the south Baltic

coast of relatively warm, shallow sea water with little

salinity, little water dynamic and communities of rare

and endangered vegetable and animal species. It is a

spawning ground and habitat for many endangered

species, including harbour porpoise and, together

with Vistula River Estuary, a major feeding and

resting place for migratory birds and important

wintering place for many birds that hatch on the

North Baltic. For this reason, both these areas have

also been recognized as bird protected area under

Natura 2000 network [10].

With a view to enhance the safety of navigation

and the protection of the marine environment in the

waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk, a ships’ routeing system

within the Polish territorial and internal waters was

established on 15 April 1980 in the form of two traffic

separation schemes (TSS) for the approaches to the

ports of Gdańsk and Gdynia, based on the general

principles and the requirements of ships’ routeing

defined by IMO. It was introduced under Polish

national legislation and announced in Polish Notices

to Mariners No.12/1980 and No.15/1980, revised and

amended with inshore traffic zones in 2003 (Polish

Notices to Mariners: No.13/2003 and No.16/2003).

Both TSSs guided all flow of ships to the Polish ports

situated in the Gulf of Gdansk and have substantially

contributed to simplify the patterns of traffic flow

[10].

Furthermore, on 1 May 1986, a ship reporting

system (SRS) “REPLINE HEL” was established within

the Polish territorial waters, south of parallel 54°45´N,

based on the IMO General Principles for Ship

Reporting Systems and Ship Reporting Requirements,

including Guidelines for Reporting Incidents

Involving Dangerous Goods, Harmful Substances

and/or Marine Pollutants, as adopted by IMO

Resolution A.851(20). It was announced in Polish

Notices to Mariners, the first time in No.17/1986), the

second time in No.13/1987 [10].

On April 15, 1997 were established two vessel

traffic services (VTS): “VTS Gdańsk” and “VTS

Gdynia” served by Harbour Masters of these ports

(announced in Polish Notices to Mariners

No.14/1997). On 1 May 2003 they have been

replaced by one Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) “Gulf of

Gdańsk” (announced in Polish Notices to Mariners

No.20/2003), acting as a coastal VTS and Maritime

Assistance Service (MAS) operated according IMO

Resolution A.857(20) and IMO Resolution A.950(23)

respectively. The area of its responsibility covers the

Polish waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk including both

traffic separation schemes. Since that day the SRS

“REPLINE HEL” has become a part of VTS reporting

procedures (as amended by Polish Notices to

Mariners No.16/2003) enhancing safety and efficiency

of maritime traffic.

Establishment of the measures described above

reduced significantly the risk of pollution caused by

collisions and risk of grounding in the area and this

had a positive impact on the entire Baltic Sea area. It

should be emphasized that there was no major

accident compromising the safety of navigation

within the TSSs over the last 30 years. Recognizing the

positive effects of the existing TSS, SRS and VTS on

safety of navigation and protection of environment,

Government of Poland decided in 2007 to submit

information about them to IMO for approve by that

Organization [10]. Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)

approved them at its eighty-third session and

announced its decision in three IMO circulars:

− COLREG.2/Circ.59. New and amended existing

traffic separation schemes. Annex 2 “On the

approaches to the Polish ports in the Gulf of

Gdańsk” [2];

− SN.1/Circ. 263. Routeing measures other than

traffic separation schemes. Annex “New

Recommendation on navigation to the Polish ports

through the Gulf of Gdańsk traffic area” [19]; and

− SN.1/Circ. 264. Mandatory ship reporting systems.

Annex 2. Resolution MSC.249(83) (adopted on 8

October 2007) Adoption of the new mandatory

ship reporting system “On the approaches to the

Polish ports in the Gulf of Gdańsk” [20].

Traffic separation schemes on the approaches to

the Polish ports in the Gulf of Gdańsk, boundary of

the ship reporting system “GDANREP” (new name

for “REPLINE HEL”) and area of responsibility of the

VTS “Gulf of Gdańsk” are shown in Figure 4 [10, 18].

587

Figure 4. Traffic separation schemes on the approaches to

the Polish ports in the Gulf of Gdańsk, boundary of the ship

reporting system and area of responsibility of the VTS “Gulf

of Gdańsk” [10, 18].

3.4 Deep Water “D” route

The increase in the transport of hazardous and

environmentally harmful goods to the Polish ports in

the Gulf of Gdańsk, especially after the opening in

1975 of the Northern Port in Gdańsk, accessible to

ships with a draft of up to 15 m, was the reason why

the Polish maritime administration decided to

designate a deep water (DW) route bypassing shallow

waters along the Polish coast and connecting Gdańsk

with Danish Straits through Borngholmsgat. It was

established 15 of May 1980 as the internally

recommended route for following Polish vessels:

− oil tankers with a gross tonnage of 20,000 RT and

above;

− gas carriers and chemical tankers with a gross

tonnage of 1600 RT and more;

− ships with more than 2,500 tonnes of fuel (diesel

and heating oil); and

− general cargo and bulk carriers with dangerous

goods specified by the Polish Minister of Foreign

Trade and Maritime Economy (Journal of Laws of

1961 No. 58 item 318) in category "0" in any

quantity and in category "A" over 100 tons,

classified in subclasses 1.1 and 1.2 and in classes 2,

3 and 7.

On February 3, 1982, the Intergovernmental

Maritime Organization (IMCO) published a note of

the Polish Government "Route for ships carrying

cargo hazardous to the marine environment in the

Gulf of Gdansk”, requesting the establishment of a

transit route for ships carrying cargos that are harmful

to the environment in the Gulf of Gdańsk [7]. This

route, connecting points with geographic coordinates

[7]:

− 55

15.7'N; 016

06.0'E;

− 55

12.6'N; 018

25.5'E; and

− 54

42.7'N; 019

11.1'E,

was to be recommended for ships:

− tankers carrying crude oil of a gross tonnage of

20,000 RT or more;

− gas carriers with a gross tonnage of 1600 RT or

more;

− ships with a gross tonnage of 1600 RT or more

carrying liquid dangerous substances classified as

classes A or B of Annex IV to the Helsinki

Convention or Annex II to the MARPOL

Convention of 1973.

The route was discussed at the 8th Session of the

Helsinki Committee in 1982. At the request of

Denmark and Sweden, the committee did not accept

it. The formal reason for the objection of these two

countries was proposed by Poland the method of

connecting the "D" route with the "T" route off the

Swedish coast. It was only agreed that the method of

connecting these two routes should be carefully

analysed. Informally, the reason for the objections of

these countries was their refusal to shift to the north

of Bornholm the traffic of ships that most threaten the

environment in the event of their failure. Due to this

position of the Helsinki Committee, the "D" route was

not accepted by the IMCO. In later years, the position

of connecting the proposed "D" route with the traffic

separation scheme in Swedish waters was changed to

a point with the coordinates: 55o21.5'N, 016o1.0'E, but

the Helsinki Committee did not accept the amended

proposal. So it was still functioned only as a route

recommended for Polish ships, in accordance with the

recommendation of May 15, 1980.

After the entry into force of the Polish Act of

March 21, 1991 on the maritime areas of the Republic

of Poland and maritime administration, the minister

responsible for maritime economy did not introduce

the "D" route in the Polish territorial sea in accordance

with the requirements of this Act. Therefore, the route

ceased to be shown as recommended for Polish ships

carrying dangerous goods on charts published by the

Polish Naval Hydrographic Office (BHMW) and

described in the Sailing Directions published by this

office. On September 18, 2002 during Extraordinary

Meeting of the Baltic Sea Hydrographic Commission

Poland submitted the deep-water “D” route situated

entirely within Polish EEZ and territorial waters as a

one of the major shipping routes scheduled for

Harmonized Hydrographic Re-survey Plan of the

Baltic Sea in accordance with IHO standards for

hydrographic surveys S-44. The “D” route resurvey

has been completed by the Hydrographic Office of the

Polish Navy in 2005. The width of the surveyed area is

6 nautical miles in EEZ and 2 nautical miles in

territorial waters. The lowest examined depth on the

route was 23 m.

Attempts to introduce internationally, in

agreement with Denmark and Sweden, the "D" route

were resumed in 2005 at the forum of the Expert

Working Group on Transit Routeing (EWG TRANSIT

ROUETING) established at the 11th meeting of the

Helsinki Commission in 2003. As a result of the

discussion, the following information appeared in the

document submitted by Baltic states without Russia to

IMO in 2005 [8]:

“For ships bound for or leaving the Gulf of

Gdańsk, Poland has advanced plans for a

recommended deep-water route “D” in the Polish

EEZ with a junction point to the deep-water route

northeast of Bornholm. Also two traffic separation

schemes are designed in the Gulf of Gdańsk. The

deep-water route “D” will be further discussed

regarding details with countries concerned. Poland

intends to submit a proposal to NAV 52.”

588

Several bilateral consultation meetings on this

route, attended by representatives of the maritime

administrations of Denmark, Germany, Poland and

Sweden took place in 2005 and 2006 but no consensus

was obtained due to the lack of consent of the

maritime administrations of:

− Denmark and Sweden to introduce the "D" route as

recommended for all ships carrying dangerous,

noxious and polluting goods;

− Poland to introduce mentioned route only for

ships with a draft not less than specified agreed

value, in the discussed range of 8-12 meters.

Due to the impossibility of agreeing a common

position, the meetings were suspended until 2012. In

August 2012, Polish Ministry of Transport,

Construction and Maritime Economy invited experts

from Denmark and Sweden to discuss the question of

establishing "D" route for ships with a draft not less

than 12 meters. The meeting was held in Copenhagen

in December 2012, but experts from Scandinavian

countries did not respond to the Polish proposal,

explaining that it required detailed analyses. Attempts

to organize further meetings were not made.

3.5 Route between Słupska Bank and Polish coast

Regardless of the described attempts to introduce the

DW "D" route, Poland has also taken steps to regulate

on the international forum the rules for ships’ traffic

along the Polish coast.

The shallow and shifting shoals in the southern

part of the Baltic Sea present a great risk of grounding

for deeper draught ships and consequently pollution.

This opinion confirmed accident with the bulk carrier

„Conrad Oldendorff” which left Port of Gdańsk with

a draught of 14.4 meters and grounded on June 28,

2006 on shallow water south of Bornholm Island. It

demonstrated the necessity to introduce measures to

prevent this pattern of accidents in the future. Such

accident could have disastrous effects on the

vulnerable nature of the whole Baltic Sea ecosystem.

The study confirmed the common incidence of head-

on close encounters in a confined space of navigable

waters which could easily cause collisions and

groundings. In view of the above and with the sole

objective of:

− separating opposing streams of traffic to reduce

the risk of head-on encounters;

− simplifying the patterns of traffic flow in

converging areas;

− reducing the risk of groundings by providing safe

passage and guidance to vessels navigating in

areas with limited water depths; and

− organizing a safe traffic flow in the vicinity of

environmentally sensitive areas,

Governments of Denmark, Germany and Poland

decided to submit to IMO proposal to establish two

traffic separation schemes: between shallow water

areas Adlergrund and Pomeranian Bay in German

waters (named TSS “Adlergrund”) and between

Słupska Bank and coastline in Polish waters (called

TSS “Słupska Bank”) [12]. The expected impact of the

introduction of both TSSs on the safety of navigation

was presented in Annex 1 to the German and Polish

submission to IMO “Routeing of ships, ship reporting

and related matters. Information about planned new

routeing measures in the southern part of the Baltic

Sea” containing the results of a statistical study

undertaken by the Shipping Institute in Warnemünde

an affiliate of the Department of Maritime Studies of

the Wismar University of Technology, Business and

Design [11]. IMO approved the proposal and

announced its decision regarding TSS “Słupska Bank”

in the circular COLREG.2/Circ.61 Annex 2 [3].

The real effects of introducing TSS "Słupska Bank"

are shown in Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 presents vessel

traffic between Słupska Bank and the Polish coast

before the introduction of TSS, Figure 6 - after its

establishment. The top of each figure shows the ship's

routes, the bottom - the traffic directions of ships

passing through particular points of the control line

drawn at right angles to the average direction of

movement of most vessels.

Figure 5. Ship traffic in the area between Słupska Bank and

the Polish coast before the introduction of TSS [15].

Figure 6. Ship traffic in the area between Słupska Bank and

the Polish coast after the establishment of TSS [15].

589

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, introduction of traffic

separation scheme “Słupska Bank” eliminates the

potential risk coming from ships meeting each other

on reciprocal or nearly reciprocal courses by

streamlining the eastbound and westbound traffic as

well as serves as an anti-grounding measure.

Consequently, it enhances the safety of navigation in

the area as well as reduces threat to the marine

environment.

In order to enable the control and management of

vessel traffic and to provide an information service for

ships in the TSS “Słupska Bank” area, VTS with area

of responsibility covering this TSS was established in

2010 and modernized in 2018, in both cases by a local

legal act - an order of the Director of the Maritime

Office in Słupsk. The revised rules of its operation

were announced in Polish Notices to Mariners No.

06/2019.

On June 1, 2013, the bulk carrier “Twinkle Island”,

carrying a cargo of coal from the port of Gdańsk, ran

aground approximately 12 Nm east of the entrance to

the analysed TSS. The accident was investigated by

the Polish State Maritime Accident Investigation

Commission, which published the results of its work

in the Final Report 09/13 [5]. Report contained

recommendation for the Polish maritime

administration to intensify activities taken to

designate a new safe route of TSS "Słupska Bank",

conducting appropriate surveys and preparing

documents in this matter for submission to the IMO

[5]. Following this recommendations, Poland

submitted to IMO a proposal for an appropriate

modernization and expansion of TSS “Słupska Bank”

towards the east in 2019 [13]. The proposal was

accepted in 2020. Information about the amended TSS

was published in the IMO Circular COLREG.2/Circ.75

[4]. The modified traffic separation scheme is

presented in Figure 7 [13] and will become effective at

0000 UTC on June 1, 2021.

Figure 7. The modified TSS “Słupska Bank” [13].

4 CONCLUSIONS

Summing up the information presented in this paper,

it should be stated that the traffic separation schemes

and vessel reporting system introduced by IMO, as

well as the establishment of the VTS service, ensure

the proper level of safety of navigation and

environmental protection in the Polish part of the

Gulf of Gdańsk. In the case of TSS "Słupska Bank",

due to the limited depths in its area, it may have a

reservation regarding the lack of a recommendation

on the maximum draft of ships that may use it. Its lack

is due to the fact that the maritime administrations of

Poland, Denmark and Sweden did not agree on a

deep water route (“D” route) for ships sailing to/from

Polish ports of the Gulf of Gdańsk between Bornholm

Island and the coast of Sweden (through

Brnholmsgat). Leaving the decision on this scope to

ship captains creates a potential risk of grounding in

stormy weather conditions of deep draft vessels.

Doubts also raises the establishment of the VTS

"Słupska Bank" operating inside the area of TSS

introduced by IMO in the international waters and

Polish territorial sea by local legal act (order of the

director of the maritime office) only.

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