In 2004 the Supreme Audit Institutions in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and
Russia conducted an audit on preparedness to combat pollution from ships in the Baltic Sea. The audit was performed as a performance and compliance audit of the implementation of the articles concerning pollution from ships in the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (the Helsinki Convention), including relevant annexes and recommendations. The relevant articles in the Helsinki Convention are:

• Article 8 – Prevention of pollution from ships (including annex IV and the HELCOM Copenhagen Declaration)
• Article 13 – Notification and consultation on pollution incidents
• Article 14 – Cooperation in combating marine pollution (including annex VII)
• Article 16 – Reporting and exchange of information.

The objectives of the audit were to assess whether the national authorities in the respective countries comply with the provisions of these articles, including relevant annexes and recommendations.