NEWS: New risk maps highlight Adriatic areas most exposed to oil spill impacts
The first consolidated results of the ASAP project were presented today by project partner Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS) during a press conference in Trieste, highlighting new risk maps and oil spill simulations developed to support a more effective response to marine pollution in the Adriatic Sea.
The press conference, hosted at the premises of our lead partner, the Central European Initiative – Executive Secretariat, brought together project partners, institutions and maritime authorities to illustrate how scientific data and modelling can help identify where oil spills are more likely to occur and which coastal and marine areas are most vulnerable.
During its first phase, ASAP focused on:
- analysing environmental risks linked to maritime traffic and past accidents;
- running oil spill simulations under different scenarios;
- mapping sensitive marine and coastal areas;
- assessing available resources and response capacities across Adriatic countries.
It emerged that the results go beyond a simple assessment of current conditions, providing a shared reference framework capable of guiding preparedness measures, public investments and policy decisions. In particular, the availability of common data and tools was highlighted as a key factor in improving coordination and response capacity in situations where pollution events affect more than one country.
ASAP involves scientific institutions, maritime authorities and experts from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia, working together to develop common methods and tools for protecting the Adriatic Sea. The project builds on experience gained in the northern Adriatic and extends it to the entire basin, recognising that large-scale pollution incidents cannot be effectively addressed by individual countries acting alone and require a coordinated transnational effort.
From the scientific and operational perspective, it was underlined that ASAP responds to a clear and widely shared need to strengthen common prevention and emergency management mechanisms for maritime accidents with potential pollution impacts in the Adriatic. In this context, the risk maps produced through oil spill simulations were presented as a concrete and immediately usable tool, capable of supporting decision-making and operational planning, while laying the groundwork for more stable and long-term coordination among Adriatic countries.
Further project activities will build on these results, refining the analyses and supporting stronger cooperation across the Adriatic region.
