Scientific Journals Zeszyty Naukowe of the Maritime University of Szczecin Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie 2018, 53 (125), 93–101 ISSN 1733-8670 (Printed) Received: 24.10.2017 ISSN 2392-0378 (Online) Accepted: 20.02.2018 DOI: 10.17402/270 Published: 16.03.2018 Quantitative analysis of the impact of fishing ship traffic streams on traffic streams of merchant vessels in Polish maritime areas Anna Anczykowska, Paulina Rekowska, Wojciech Ślączka Maritime University of Szczecin, Faculty of Navigation, Maritime Risk Center 1–2 Wały Chrobrego St., 70-500 Szczecin, Poland e-mail:
[email protected] corresponding author Key words: fishing vessels, Baltic Sea, traffic streams, merchant vessels, maritime areas, risk Abstract The Baltic Sea is crisscrossed by several dense vessel traffic routes. Growing shipping traffic increases the likelihood of collisions. A quantitative analysis of the impact of fishing vessel traffic streams on streams of merchant vessel traffic aims to identify areas of intense traffic of this type and to assess the potential risks. The identification of intersections of fishing vessel routes and merchant shipping traffic allows us to identify spots of potential collisions. The analysis made use of the IALA IWRAP Mk2 program and AIS data collected from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. Introduction Shipping routes in the South Baltic – state of knowledge The intensity of commercial vessel traffic in the Baltic Sea has been increasing yearly. The observed The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) conducts growth comprises mainly bulk carriers, container research on the vessel traffic density in the Baltic ships, general cargo vessels and passenger ships. Sea. Traffic streams are recorded via the automatic Since the LNG terminal in Świnoujście was put into identification system (AIS).