On January 27-28, 2020, in Kotka (Finland), a meeting was held between the participants of the international research project SIMREC on the use of specialized simulators for developing effective methods of oil spill response in extreme conditions.

At the event, the Gulf of Finland regions with the highest risk of oil spills were observed, oil spill response excerсise scenarios in correlation with the detected areas of intensive shipping of the eastern Gulf of Finland  were investigated, some technical aspects for connection of marine simulators of the Souh-East Finland University of Applied Sciences and the Makarov Training Centre of Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping (St. Petersburg, Russia) were discussed, as well as the competencies that specialists will acquire after undergoing simulator training. As a result, the common project implementation plan for all the parties has been developed.

Besides Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, the project involves St. Petersburg State Marine Technical University, Kotka Maritime Research Association, Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, South-East Finland University of Applied Sciences and the Finnish Environmental Institute. According to the project’s roles, specialists from Makarov Training Centre of Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping will provide technical integration of Russian and Finnish simulators in a unified information environment for the subsequent development of joint exercise scenarios.

The SIMREC project (Simulators for improving cross-border oil spill response in extreme conditions) is aimed at mitigating the risks and consequences of oil spills in the Gulf of Finland by expanding cooperation between Russia and Finland, creating and applying new modern technologies for risk analysis, developing methods and tactics of combating spills at sea, as well as improving the level of training of specialists in responding to emergency oil spills. The project is funded by the European Union, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland according to the development of cross-border cooperation between states. The project will be completed by August 31, 2022.