Global regimes, regional adaptation; environmental safety in Baltic Sea oil transportation

Despite significant efforts to improve environmental safety in marine oil transportation, the risk of a major accident with devastating oil spills has most likely increased. Building on the regime analytical approach where it is assumed that international collaboration may benefit participating countries, it is argued that bilateral and sub-regional initiatives may increase maritime safety significantly, compared to exclusive reliance on universal conventions. A distinction is made between on the one hand investments in safety-increasing infrastructure and local capacity building and on the other, vessel design, on-board installations and crew qualifications. It is suggested that bilateral and sub-regional initiatives are more likely to be taken on the former kind of objects, targeting issues, such as modernization of port facilities, monitoring support, assistance in emergency capacity building and designation of ports of refuge, because the interaction between the involved countries are comparably stable in the cases. Actual efforts to improve safety seem to follow the logic of separation between these two types of safety-increasing measures. It is concluded that similar drivers of bilateral and sub-regional initiatives targeting specific aspects of marine safety and contributing to overall collective benefits from improved environmental protection probably exist also in other regions than the Baltic Sea.