STORMWINDS contributes to operational and strategic management of ecological risks to the Northern Baltic Sea, emerging from maritime transportation incidents and accidents. Focus is on wintertime conditions as most accidents in the area occur in the ice season.

To achieve these aims, advances are made to support operational risk management in two ways. First, a holistic cross-border and cross-sector analysis of the vessel traffic control and emergency response services is performed, using a systems-theoretic approach.

This analysis is further placed in context with maritime spatial planning, leading to policy-relevant recommendations. The systems-theoretic approach is furthermore applied to probabilistic, indicator-based safety management modelling for vessel traffic services operation and training.

Second, specific tools for operational risk management are developed. Accident prevention is enhanced through the development of e¬navigation services related to ship routing and ship performance in ice. Accident response is enhanced through the development of smart response services for shipping accidents.

STORMWINDS addresses strategic risk management through the development of a risk management model for spill response effectiveness in wintertime conditions, resulting in recommendations regarding fleet organisation. Both the operational and strategic risk management work require scientific advances in various fields, which are used in parallel to achieve the overall aims.