Abstract

Under an increasing maritime transport in the Baltic Sea, and especially in the Gulf of Finland, the possibility of environmental harm and accidents due to shipping pressure is growing. To counteract increasing risks, adequate measures for accident prevention and mitigation of environmental consequences are critically important. The Gulf of Finland Mandatory Ship Reporting System (GOFREP) is a the complex socio-technical maritime transport safety management system that has been in efficient operation since 2004 and it is open to further improvement and development. However, environmental safety is not explicitly covered by the GOFREP so far. According to our working hypothesis, the Systems Theoretic Accident Models and Processes (STAMP) can be extended beyond the area of socio-technical system safety into realm of complex eco-socio-technical systems safety. This paper attempts to demonstrate the conceptual potential of STAMP based on adaptive management of the Maritime Spatial Planning processes and integrated safety management of eco-socio-technical maritime transport system.