ABSTRACT
Maritime traffic in the Baltic Sea is very dense, especially if the traffic volumes are compared to the size of the sea area. More than 2,000 vessels continuously transport different kinds of cargoes on the Baltic Sea. Approximately 25% of the vessels are loaded with oil, oil products or chemicals. (Baltic Sea Action Group 2008; HELCOM 2009) The Baltic Sea is 392,000 square kilometres wide with an average depth of only 54 meters. As a comparison, the average depth in the Mediterranean Sea is 1,550 meters and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans 4,000 meters. The Baltic Sea is connected to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean only by the narrow Danish straits. (Myrberg et al. 2011)
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost part of the Baltic Sea and it is approximately 400 km long. Width varies between 65 km and 135 km. The Gulf of Finland is surrounded by three countries: Finland, Estonia and Russia. The narrowest point is found between Helsinki and Tallinn. The shores and the archipelago are mainly rocky, and there are hundreds of islands of various sizes. The total length of the coastline including the islands in the Gulf of Finland is up to 6,500 km. (Knuutila 2011) The Gulf of Finland is very shallow, the average depth only being 37 meters. The Gulf and the archipelago are very sensitive and vulnerable to pollution, due to for example the low volumes and slow turnover of water, low temperatures and ice cover during winter,
and stratification of water into layers with different temperatures. (Knuutila et al. 2009)
The purpose of this study is to produce maritime oil transportation scenarios for the years 2020 and 2030 in the Gulf of Finland. An analysis of the current state and factors affecting future development of oil transportation in the Gulf of Finland is also provided. Transported oil volumes in 2020 and 2030 were estimated by the group of experts.
