KMRC » Research » Projects » Publications » Business »    Research Maritime logistics and port operations The Kotka Unit of Centre for Maritime Studies (University of Turku) was founded in 2006 to support research in logistics, Russian transit traffic and maritime traffic in the Kymenlaakso area. Professor of maritime logistics systems Ulla Tapaninen is in charge of the unit's logistics research group. The research group has expertise in Russian traffic and logistics information systems. In addition, the group studies the environmental and safety aspect of maritime traffic. The group works in close co-operation with local and national logistics companies. Safety of Maritime Traffic The increase of the intensity of marine traffic in the Gulf of Finland also increases the risks for ship accidents. There are a number of ways to decrease the risks, but it is most efficient to prevent the accidents by pre-accident activities. The Maritime safety research group at KMRC is lead by Professor Pentti Kujala from Aalto University. The main research topics of the Maritime safety group at Kotka Maritime Research Centre (KMRC) cover mathematical modeling of the traffic flows and based on these evaluations of proper riskmodels. The approach is system based including the whole traffic patterns so that the most risky areas can be determined on route by route basis. The required input parameters are based on AIS data and on extensive analysis of accident statistics. The database of near misses for ship accidents is also applied when available. The development of a proper gathering system for near miss situations also needs contributions by KMRC. Winter navigation is also under active research aiming at proper modeling of ship navigation in ice and analysis of the whole winter navigation system in the Gulf of Finland. Environmental effects of maritime transport and the marine environment The Fisheries and Environmental Management Group (FEM) focuses on the interaction between ecosystems and human society. Our research interests are: * Decision analysis of renewable resources * Identification and quantification of risks in the use of natural resources * Integrating different sources of data and knowledge: Bayesian analysis * Cross discplinary modelling of exploitation processes of natural resources in the face of risks and uncertainty in the information The leader of the group is professor Sakari Kuikka. The group works at two locations, in Viikki campus in Helsinki and in Kotka Maritime Research Center in Kotka.