Stakeholders explored a new service concept for shared situational awareness in oil spill response

On 20 October, invited stakeholders from Estonia and Finland gathered at TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy and online to learn about and discuss a new service concept for shared situational awareness in oil spill response.

The workshop forms part of DIGIMARIS’ efforts to develop a new digital service concept aimed at improving maritime situational awareness by integrating information from multiple sources into a shared operational picture.

By using unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to collect and analyse real-time information on oil spills, their extent and movement, DIGIMARIS is exploring how this data can be integrated into SmartResponseWeb (SRW), an existing web-based, map-driven platform for planning, modelling and visualising maritime incidents and scenarios. Bringing real-time field data into the platform has the potential to enhance operational situational awareness and provide authorities with a new level of decision-making support during response operations.

During the workshop, participants were introduced to the overall objectives of the service concept, the planned development of the service, and the future exchange of data between SmartResponseWeb, the USVs and their sensor systems.

Participants discussed, among other topics, data visibility, user roles and access rights, information sharing, cybersecurity, and the overall usability of the future service. The discussions highlighted that different users may require different views of the same operational situation, depending on their responsibilities and operational needs.

While the technical capabilities and data sources are already being defined, the key question moving forward is how the future platform should be used, by whom, and what kind of situational awareness would best support operational decision-making.

To answer these questions, the project will continue refining its understanding of user needs through targeted stakeholder interviews and discussions with future end users before the end of the year.

These activities will help ensure that the service concept responds to real operational needs and supports effective decision-making in maritime emergency response and environmental protection.

DIGIMARIS is a Finnish-Estonian cooperation project funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Programme. Launched in August 2025, the project aims to enhance cross-border oil spill response preparedness in the Gulf of Finland. The project is led by Kotka Maritime Research Centre in partnership with the Estonian State Fleet, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences Xamk, Kymenlaakso Rescue Department, and TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy.