Main Drivers for Maritime Cluster and Shipping in the Baltic Sea

Abstract

<p>One of the main aims of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is to<br />observe and determine factors affecting the development of various future<br />sea uses. As a part of the transboundary MSP research done in the Maritime<br />Spatial Planning for Sustainable Blue Economies (Plan4Blue) project,<br />drivers for the creation of alternative scenarios for Blue Economy in the Gulf<br />of Finland and the Archipelago Sea have been defined. The Blue Economic<br />sectors analysed were energy, the maritime cluster, maritime and coastal<br />tourism, the blue bioeconomy and subsea resources. The drivers affecting<br />the development of blue economy sectors by the year 2050 were identified<br />by experts through Delphi-surveys and workshops. First, the drivers were<br />explored using the PESTEL-classification: political, economic, social,<br />technological, environmental and legal drivers. The main drivers were then<br />analysed and presented in futures tables. The results of this analysis are<br />discussed from the viewpoint of the maritime cluster and shipping. The most<br />important shipping drivers identified are transnational in nature: global<br />economic trends and environmental policies, which connect national and<br />regional MSP with the global scale. Driver analysis supports the<br />identification of the sector’s needs in the context of MSP. Challenges<br />encountered in the process are highlighted in this text.<br /></p>