1.1. Objectives of the project

The project outputs will include the creation of operational guidelines and the upgrading of the MANIFESTS DSS, new experimental data on the behaviour and impacts of HNS, good practices and recommendations to improve emergency plans for refuelling stations that will work with new propulsion energies (methanol, ammonia…) as well as for coastal industries that use ammonia in their cooling system, and the establishment of intervention protocols at cross-sectoral scale. Bespoke training materials and exercises will be designed to transfer knowledge and decision-making tools developed in MANIFESTS Genius and other relevant EU and national projects to target stakeholders.

The specific objectives of the project are:

1. To assess the behaviour and impacts of volatile and gaseous HNS, when released in coastal marine waters, with a focus on both surface and subsurface release scenarios.
2. To provide information to assist stakeholders in preparing effective emergency plans and response protocols for sites with transport pipelines or anhydrous ammonia-based refrigeration systems.
3. To improve information sharing among marine pollution authorities and response groups to enhance efficient coordination of the land and sea response.
4. To transfer knowledge and train stakeholders on the use of decision-making tools developed by MANIFESTS Genius and previous EU and national projects.

The MANIFESTS Genius project receives a co-funding from the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism of DG-ECHO as 85% of the eligible costs (call UCPM-2023-KAPP).

Work packages

The project is divided in 5 work packages:

WP1 Project management

WP1 is dedicated to the coordination and management of the project. This includes the implementation of mechanisms to ensure that MANIFESTS Genius meets its objectives and delivers its results and outputs on time, keeping an efficient communication flow between the beneficiaries and ensuring that robust financial management systems are put in place by all the beneficiaries.

Responsible Partner: Cedre

WP 2: Fate of evaporators and gases

The objective of WP2 is to assess the behaviour and impacts of volatile and gaseous HNS, including new propulsion energies, when released in coastal marine and fresh waters. The objectives of this WP are:

• Generation of new experimental data on HNS evaporation and dissolution processes, including new propulsion energies.
• Refinement of the gas cloud drifting and evaporation models as well as the explosion risk modules.
• Development of a new tool for the modelling of gases and evaporators rising in the water column (subsurface leak).
• Experimental characterization of the effectiveness of a protective barrier against a gas cloud taking place in a port.

Responsible partner: IMT Mines-Ales

WP3: Cross-border/Land-Sea Preparedness and response

WP3 aims to provide detailed information on risks associated with new propulsion energies using literature and accidentology surveys, in order to build effective emergency plans. The work will also assess global trends regarding these energies to understand the market, future shipping routes and, consequently, to identify future risk areas.

The main expected outputs include:

• Assessing potential hazards of new propulsion energies (ammonia, methanol, LNG and Li-ion batteries) and lesson learnt from past accidents.
• Accident analysis based on two accident scenarios: surface slick and bottom leakage.
• Training and desktop exercises based on the defined scenarios.
• Development and upgrading of tools to facilitate the information sharing for cross sectoral and multi-agency incidents.

Responsible partner: INTECMAR

WP4: Transfer and capitalisation of knowledge

The objective of WP4 is to transfer knowledge and decision-making tools that have been developed in the framework of MANIFESTS-Genius and from previous EU and national projects, such as databases, guidance and tools to stakeholders and authorities involved in maritime pollution, both at sea and inland.

The actions in this work package will involve:

• Development of a virtual catalogue of resources to facilitate their transfer to end-users.
• Creation of bespoke training materials to demonstrate the use of existing tools and results dealing with coastal pollution response.
• Targeted interviews with crisis managers in port areas about maritime accidents.
• Training activities at both national and international levels to improve awareness on existing decision-making tools and to promote engagement with stakeholders.

Responsible partner: CEDRE

WP5 Dissemination strategy, capitalization and visibility

This WP aims to effectively communicate and disseminate the project outputs to authorities and stakeholders working on maritime pollution and/or civil protection at all levels, i.e. local, regional, national and international levels and to raise awareness among the general public. This WP will focus on drawing up the communication and dissemination strategy and implementing adequate tools for the successful dissemination of the MANIFESTS Genius results.

Responsible partner: CETMAR