Blog
Welcome to our blog! Here, our project team shares monthly insights, updates, and reflections from the project.
Sense of Water (FI)
May 2026
The WAWE programme and the ‘Sense of Water‘ project held a joint workshop in May, focusing on the meaning of ‘a sense of water’ and its role in research. In this post, Senior Researcher Emilia Luoma discusses how examining the concept of ‘sense’ can help expand our understanding of water and its importance.
Building Science in Time: Why Environmental Policymaking Needs Proactive Research
April 2026
Environmental policymaking is often seen as a scramble for data once a crisis has already hit. However, the most effective policies rest on a scientific foundation built years before the moment of decision. In this blog post, Senior Researcher Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen delves into the hidden timelines of research, from identifying ‘silent signals’ of knowledge gaps to the multi-year cycles of funding calls and peer reviews.
Understanding What Happens at the Sea with AI
March 2026
In this blog post, our postdoc researcher, Mahsa Khorasani, discusses the use of process mining and NLP to analyze ship behavior in ice and reconstruct the causal chains behind maritime accidents. Learn how our WATERWAYS research connects real-time operational data with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to improve the resilience of global trade.
Shaping the Future of our seas with Maritime Spatial Planning
February 2026
This blog post examines the evolution of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) from early pioneering work in the Baltic Sea to the upcoming European Ocean Act 2027. It explores the practical implementation of the ecosystem-based approach and discusses how integrated governance can address the growing competition for marine space while ensuring environmental sustainability.
Unravelling the Complexities of Waterways, their representation and regulation
January 2026
In this blog post, researchers from Åbo Akademi University and the University of Helsinki focus on how Bayesian-network modelling can help connect maritime spatial planning and coherent regulation – supporting safer, more sustainable decision-making in a setting where multiple uses, impacts, and risks overlap.
Charting the Future of Winter Navigation: Keeping Humans at the Center of Digital Change
November 2025
Winter navigation demands difficult, high-stakes decisions, especially judging when a vessel truly needs icebreaker assistance. As experienced navigators become fewer and conditions grow more unpredictable, the urgency increases to develop tools that support human judgment rather than replace it.
In the Shadows of the Sea: Unveiling the Risks of the Shadow Fleet
October 2025
They sail in the dark, change their names, and carry risky cargo without proper insurance. The rise of the shadow fleet is rewriting the landscape of maritime safety and raising urgent questions for regions like the Baltic Sea. What happens if one of these ships spills oil, causes an accident, or damages undersea infrastructure?