History
The Danish Maritime Authority was set up in 1988 through the merger of six existing maritime agencies and bodies (the State Ships Inspection, the Directorate for Seafarers, the Directorate for the Maritime Training Programme, the Register of Shipping, the Welfare Office, and the State Ice Service). Thorkild Funder was the first Director-General, succeeded by Jørgen Hammer Hansen in 1996. A government initiative in 2015 decided that the Agency would relocate to Korsør in 2017. 1988: Six Danish maritime institutions merge (the State Ships Inspection; the Directorate for Seafarers; the Directorate for the Maritime Training Programme; the Register of Shipping; the Welfare Office; and the State Ice Service) to become the Danish Maritime Authority. Thorkild Funder becomes the first Director-General. The Danish International Register of Shipping (DIS) was set up. 1996: Jørgen Hammer Hansen becomes the new Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority. The report: "A future for Danish shipping" was presented by the Funder Committee. 2000: "The Act on the Danish International Register of Shipping" was amended. It became possible to admit passenger ships engaged in foreign trade to the DIS. 2001: All maritime training programs became private foundations. The tonnage taxation scheme is introduced. 2003: "A shipping growth strategy" was published by the Danish Maritime Authority, and industry presents its recommendations for future recruiting and training programmes. 2006: The action plan "Denmark as Europe's leading shipping nation" is published. 2009: Andreas Nordseth succeeds Jørgen Hammer Hansen as Director General of the Agency. 2011: The Danish Maritime Authority takes over most of the abolished Danish Maritime Safety Administration's tasks, such as aids to navigation and lights, navigational information, and navigation warnings, and the Danish Pilotage Authority (Danish: ''Lodtilsynet''). When the Danish Maritime Safety Administration (DaMSA) (Danish: ''Farvandsvæsnet'') was abolished, most of its former responsibilities was incorporated into the Danish Maritime Authority. Responsibility for the supervision of the maritime educations were allocated to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Danish: ''Uddannelses- og Forskingsministeriet''). 2012: The "Plan for Growth in Blue Denmark" was published. 2013: The Danish Maritime Authority was reallocated to a new location on Carl Jacobsens Vej in Valby. 2015: A government initiative reallocated several agencies away from Copenhagen. Danish Maritime Authority would relocate to Korsør effective 2017. 2017: The headquarters of the Danish Maritime Authority and fifty employees were relocated to temporary premises at Fjordvænget 30 in Korsør, as announced in 2015. 2019: The Danish Maritime Authority was fully set up in Korsør. The new headquarter of the Danish Maritime Authority is fully set up at three addresses in Korsør, with the main address at Caspar Brands Plads 9. The two other locations are at Fjordvænget 30 and Batterivej 7. ----Structure
The Danish Maritime Authority consists of approximately three hundred employees. Two hundred of those are found at its headquarters in Korsør in Western Sealand. The remaining employees are found throughout the country, and on board the inspectorship POUL LØWENØRN. The Danish Maritime Authority consists of twelve departments with separate areas of responsibility.Board and tribunals
The Danish Maritime Authority can revise current legal regulations or create new ones within the maritime field. The following boards that represent both employer and employees’ organisations have been set up by the Danish Maritime Authority. * Danish Ships Inspection Council * Danish Shipping Tribunal (Danish Appeals Boards Authority) * Danish Shipping Board * Danish Maritime Law Committee * Danish Pleasure Craft Safety Board * The Liaison Committee for Maritime ResearchResponsibilities
The Danish Maritime Authority has performed tasks like ship survey and certification from the beginning. The responsibilities have broadened over the years, including helping the ministry and legislation. When the Danish Maritime Safety Administration (DaMSA) was abolished in 2011, the Danish Maritime Authority took over the management of navigation information and warnings. Today, the Danish Maritime Authority is managing shipping and its framework conditions, the ships, and their crew, and marking on land and in the waters around Denmark. The Danish Maritime Authority is not the responsible agency for the enterprise policy under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (Danish: ''Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri''). Tasks like maritime surveillance, surveillance of civil shipping, sovereignty enforcement, policy authority, pollution control, environmental monitoring, and icebreaking, belongs to the Ministry of Defence (Danish: ''Forsvarsministeriet'').Areas of Responsibility
* Danish ship's construction, equipment, and operation (comprehensive security, terrorist prevention, measures for navigation, staffing, working environment, and environmental protection) * Port state control of foreign ships in Danish ports * Ship registration * Seafarer's employment, health, and maritime social conditions * Shipping policy, maritime law, and business policy both nationally and internationally * Tasks relating to marking at sea and on land (lighthouse and buoys) including ships and workshops * Sailing information in the form of sailing analyses, warnings, GIS, and professional publications * The state pilotageThe Danish Maritime Investigation Board (DMAIB)
The Danish Maritime Authority's Division for Investigation of Maritime Accidents was previously responsible for the investigation of maritime accidents. A European Union directive from 2005 asked the member states to set up maritime investigation authorities independent of the maritime administration divisions, causing Denmark to set up a new maritime investigation authority. TheThe Danish International Ship Register (DIS)
On 23 June 1988, the Danish Parliament (Danish: ''Folketing'') passed Act No. 408 of 1 July 1988 on the Danish International Ship Register (DIS). The DIS was an institutional response passed by the Danish parliament to the shipping cross of the early-to-mid 1980s and the growing challenge of reflagging of ships in the Danish merchant fleet. The introduction of the DIS proved to be a historical landmark in the development of the Danish shipping industry as it meant the gradual revival of its merchant fleet, followed up with extensions and related measures, such as the 2002 tonnage taxation. Today, Danish ships must be registered in the DIS, the Register of Shipping, or the Boat Register.Blue Denmark
Blue Denmark is a well-known concept in the Danish public that originated in the late 1980s and covers a range of maritime business activities. Blue Denmark consists of shipping companies and a large number of companies whose activities originate from international and Danish shipping (companies that contribute by oil extraction and installation of wind turbines, shipping companies engaged in goods or passengers; Danish ports and freight terminals serving a regional catchment area; freight forwarders and shipbrokers; repair and newbuilding years; industrial companies supplying equipment and components to shipyards worldwide, etc.). The common feature is that the companies have their head office and/or activities in Denmark, and their activity is related to maritime transport or other business at sea. The Danish Maritime Authority publishes statistics on employment and production in the Blue Denmark, as well as plans for growth.Production and Employment in Blue Denmark in 2020
The Danish maritime sector employed 64,413 people in 2020. 38,108 people were employed through the demand for goods and services created by the maritime sector in other sectors. Combining this direct and indirect level of employment, the maritime sector created 3.5 percent of all jobs in Denmark in 2020. The value of exports from the Danish maritime sector was DKK 255 billion, constituting 24.6 percent of the total Danish export of goods and services.International Cooperation in Blue Denmark
European Union (EU)
As a member of the= EU Baltic Sea Strategy
= On behalf of the other Baltic Sea countries, The Danish Maritime Authority coordinates two Policy Areas together with Finland– the Policy Areas on Clean Shipping (PA Ship) and the Policy Area on Maritime Safety and Security (PA Safe) - under the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).International Maritime Organization (IMO)
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations´ body for maritime matters and activities, where the members negotiate and adopt international maritime negotiations. The goal is to strengthen environmental protection, promote the reinforcement of maritime transport (goods and people), and enhance safety at sea. The organisation plays a key role in connection to the Danish Maritime Authority's development of rules and regulations, and Denmark has given its candidature for re-election to the council of IMO 2022–2023. The IMO further manages legal issues related to areas of insurance in connection with pollution, liability, and compensation.The Maritime Spatial Plan (MSP)
The Danish Maritime Authority is the responsible authority for developing Denmark's first maritime spatial plan (MSP). As of March 2021, all Danish authorities must follow the regulations and area allocations of the MSP. The framework for the MSP is laid down in the Maritime Spatial Plan Act 1, which implements parts of the Directive of theInternational Regulations of Maritime Planning
The overall framework for marine management and coastal state's management of the sea and its resources is theConsultation Rounds
A six-month-long public consultation on the Maritime Spatial Plan and the Environmental Assessment was initiated by the Danish Maritime Authority. The consultation round began on 31 March 2021 and ended on 30 September 2021. A total of 256 consultation responses were received from organizations, municipalities, citizens, research institutions, companies, and associations during this period. Several concerns were raised regarding the MSP's impact on activities on land.= Tourism in Djursland
= One debate covered in Danish media has been related to mariculture and tourism off the coast ofSafety at Sea
The Danish Maritime Authority manages a wide number of tasks related to aids to navigation and regulation of areas of importance to support a high safety level.The Arctic Region
Navigational safety inGreenland
The Greenlandic coastline is approximately 44.000 kilometres and sparsely populated with a limited infrastructure. To strengthen maritime safety in Greenlandic waters, the Danish Maritime Authority is in dialogue with the Greenland Home Rule Government about new initiatives. A working group in the Arctic Council is also examining the possibility for strengthening cooperation among the Arctic states to enhance sailing safety. Greenland has been assessing whether to bring the maritime political area to Greenland and except it from the responsibilities of the Danish Maritime Authority.ArcticInfo
ArcticInfo (former: ''ArcticWeb'') is a service offered by the Norwegian Coastal Administration through BarentsWatch. It is aimed at helping fishing boats, cruise traffic, and research and expedition vessels, dominating traffic in Arctic areas. The platform is a joint regional project operational since 2014, with the main target group as cruise and passenger ships running in Greenlandic waters. The Danish Maritime Authority informed on 1 June 2018 that it transferred the responsibility of ArcticInfo to Norway, and the Norwegian Coastal Administration has taken over the ownership and operation of the web platform. ArcticInfo was developed in cooperation between the Government of Greenland, the Norwegian Coastal Administration, the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), the Danish Geodata Agency, Joint Arctic Command, Defence Centre for Operational Oceanography, and the Danish Maritime Authority.Danish Maritime Cybersecurity Unit
The Danish Maritime Authority manages cyber and information security in the maritime sector. This includes maritime safety in Danish waters and safety on board Danish ships, as well as ships systems and software for the ship's operation, traffic monitoring, warning, and information for shipping. The Danish Maritime Authority set up the Danish Maritime Cybersecurity Unit in 2019, which provides advice and serves as a point of communication within the field of cyber and information security for the Danish maritime sector with an internal function at the Danish Maritime Authority. It also functions as an exchange point between actors of the maritime sector and the Center for Cyber Security (CDCS). The Danish Maritime Authority's strategic aim with the sub-strategy for cyber and information security is that cyber-attacks do not get to compromise security for Danish ships and in Danish waters.Piracy
The Danish Maritime Authority and other maritime institutions around the world have increased focus on the global challenge of piracy, as Denmark has significant maritime interests in keeping international waters safe and navigable for Danish and international shipping. Denmark has been an active driving force in preventing piracy activities on the African continent since 2008, particularly on the Horn of Africa and theEnvironment and Climate
The Maritime Spatial Plan (MSP)
The Maritime Spatial Plan (MSP) supports the aim of the Climate Act to reduce Danish by being Europe's most ambitious user of offshore wind energy. Denmark will construct new offshore wind farms and energy islands, which will help Denmark to follow the Paris Agreement from 2015 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The target is a 70% reduction of in 2030, and full climate neutrality in 2050. The MSP is supporting the United Nations´ goals affected by maritime spatial planning.Zero-Emission Shipping Mission
The Danish Maritime Authority and Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping signed a "Knowledge Partnership Agreement" in April 2022, where the two parties have committed to knowledge sharing and joint work towards a decarbonized shipping industry. The "Zero-Emission Shipping Mission" initiative is led by the states of Norway, the United States, and Denmark (led by the Danish Maritime Authority), Global Maritime Forum, and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shippon. By 2030 the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission aims to introduce into the global fleet commercially practical vessels that run on zero-emission fuels, scale-up efficient production of zero-emission fuels and set up global port infrastructure to support vessels running on zero-emissions fuels. The Mission intends to accelerate international public-private collaboration to shape and deploy new green solutions to promote zero-emission shipping internationally and will also be further supported by the governments of India, Morocco, the U.K., Singapore, France, Ghana, and South Africa. The Mission is part of the global initiative " Mission Innovation," announced atSee also
* Accident Investigation Board DenmarkReferences
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