The IMO NCSR Sub-Committee has approved the Danish Maritime Authority’s proposal for new ships’ routeing measures, thereby bringing new routes in the Skagerrak and the Kattegat one step closer and enhancing safety of navigation.

Because of developments in shipping, the vessels transiting these waters today are larger than those for which the routes were originally designed. Approximately 7,000 ships transit the Kattegat each year, the majority of which are deep-draught ships heading for or coming from the Baltic Sea. Consequently, there is a need to extend existing ships’ routes, thereby making it easier to keep the traffic separate in accordance with the largest water depths.

Therefore, the Danish Maritime Authority has – in cooperation with the Swedish Transport Agency and the agencies responsible for nautical charts in both countries – developed proposals for new ships’ routeing measures in the Skagerrak and the Kattegat.