Archipelagos, Institute of Marine Conservation, is undertaking research for the real time recording of marine traffic in the Aegean Sea. Data are collected on a 24-hour basis through the AIS network (Automatic Identification System) and the IMIS (International Maritime Information Systems) and each vessel’s characteristics are recorded, such as type, flag, cargo, size, destination etc.
The aim of this research is to have a true estimate of maritime traffic in the Aegean Sea and also the risk of a maritime accident, due to the uncontrolled movements of all types of ships in the Aegean. Ships travel in the Aegean without any designated or enforced traffic routeing systems.
Unfortunately, insufficient state mechanisms for directing cargo and tanker traffic in the Aegean Sea, and the lack of an adequate response network to deal with any small or large maritime accidents, leave no margin for optimism – as long as the current state of conditions remains.
The 2007 shipwreck of the Sea Diamond off the coast of Santorini Island, which happened under the best weather conditions, is an unfortunate example of the maritime traffic problems and lack of designated traffic routes in the Aegean. Furthermore, the planned construction of the Bourgas-Alexandroupoli oil pipeline means that the number and the size of tankers travelling through the Aegean will increase tremendously. Today, because of the restrictions that are in place in the Dardanelles strait, the tankers travelling through the Aegean have a capacity limit up to 150 000 tons. However, with the Bourgas-Alexandroupoli pipeline, the allowable tanker size in the Aegean is being increased to a capacity of 300 000 – 400 000 tons.
Archipelagos Institute continues assembling and processing data about the marine traffic in the Aegean, on a daily basis. We also share our data with the authorities.
The increasing environmental risks in the Aegean require fast steps and initiatives in order to overcome the current lack of sufficient management and to prevent a catastrophic maritime accident from occurring.