David Patraiko, Director of Projects, The Nautical Institute
8.11.13 – As the need for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) – and its development – continues to grow, The Nautical Institute has worked with the World Ocean Council to produce a guide aimed at helping maritime professionals to better understand MSP and take a more active role in representing shipping issues within the process.
Titled The Shipping Industry and Marine Spatial Planning – a professional approach and launched today (Friday) at a seminar hosted by the Institute’s Hong Kong branch, the guide provides an overview of the key shipping-related issues that need to be considered in developments to ensure that shipping issues are harmonised with other stakeholders to best serve society as a whole.
MSP involves an increasingly diverse array of organisations and interest groups – from shipping, fisheries and dredging to renewable energy, tourism and oil and gas. The Nautical Institute and the World Ocean Council are working to ensure that professionals from across the maritime spectrum become more informed and involved in MSP, particularly at the local level.
David Patraiko, Director of Projects at The Nautical Institute, said: “As more and more stakeholders seek to make use of the marine environment, it is vital that shipping professionals from all disciplines within the maritime community play a role in ensuring users of the ocean act in a coordinated and informed way. Re-routeing a shipping lane may seem like an obvious solution in accommodating a new offshore wind farm, for example, but if it increases the risk of a collision or grounding then this needs to be factored into the decision-making process.
“Each MSP development is unique, which makes it doubly important that those individuals with relevant professional knowledge and expertise are consulted from the start.”
Paul Holthus, CEO, World Ocean Council
Paul Holthus, CEO of the World Ocean Council, added: “The need for corporate ocean responsibility has never been greater. Proactive, constructive and coordinated participation in MSP by an informed ocean business community is critical and maritime professionals need to be at the heart of this process. Through the publication of this guide we believe they will be able to play an even more integral role in future MSP developments.”
The jointly produced guide identifies each of the main steps involved in a typical MSP process and highlights how the shipping community might participate and offer its expertise. It also contains a number of case studies and annexes which provide useful information on issues such as risk assessment and the space needed for manoeuvring and collision avoidance.
The guide can be downloaded in pdf format from The Nautical Institute’s MSP Forum:
http://www.nautinst.org/en/forums/msp/
To order a printed copy of the guide please email: pubs.admin@nautinst.org
Additional resource
UNESCO: Marine Spatial Planning – A Step-By-Step Approach toward Ecosystem-based Management
http://www.unesco-ioc-marinesp.be/msp_guide
The Nautical Institute
The Nautical Institute is the international professional body for qualified seafarers and others with an interest in nautical matters. It provides a wide range of services to enhance the professional standing and knowledge of members who are drawn from all sectors of the maritime world. Founded in 1972, it has over 40 branches worldwide and some 7, 000 members in over 110 countries.
In 2012, it was the proud recipient of the Training Award for its range of human element video clips at the Lloyd’s List Global Awards.
The World Ocean Council (WOC)
The WOC is the only international, cross-sectoral alliance for private sector leadership and collaboration in ‘Corporate Ocean Responsibility’. Companies worldwide are distinguishing themselves as leaders in ocean sustainability, stewardship and science by joining the WOC. Members to date include over 70 leadership organizations from a wide range of ocean industries: oil and gas, shipping, seafood, fisheries, aquaculture, mining, renewable energy, ocean technology, maritime law, marine environmental services and other areas.
