On 2 April, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) meeting decided to designate the Baltic Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA).
This means that further restrictions can be applied to activities in the Baltic, to protect it from potential environmental damage. For example, ships will be required to take special care when navigating through the waters of the Baltic.
At the same meeting, the Galapagos Islands and the Canary Islands were also classified as PSSAs. A PSSA is an area considered in need of special protection because of its significance, for either ecological, socio-economic or scientific reasons, and vulnerability to damage by international maritime activities.