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Copenhagen Agreement on the Cooperation in Combating against Pollution Incidents at Sea

Source: Copenhagen Agreement Website

Denmark including Greenland and the Faroe island, Iceland, Finland including Åland island, Sweden and Norway are parties to this agreement, which covers mutual notification, assistance and aerial surveillance of oil and other chemicals at sea. Very few countries have sufficient resources for combating oil spills and other pollution incidents on their own, and for that reason, it is important that nations cooperate closely with other nations on mutual assistance.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response

Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre - Narcotics (MAOC-N)

Source: MAOC-N Website

The Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC (N)), based in Lisbon, has 7 EU Member Countries: France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK. It is co-funded by the Internal Security Fund of the EU and is a forum for multi-lateral cooperation to suppress illicit drug trafficking by sea and air. It is a European Law Enforcement unit with military support that coordinates maritime and aviation intelligence, resources and trained personnel to respond to the threat of illicit drug trafficking.

Coast Guard Functions
Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking and Smuggling and Connected Maritime Law Enforcement
Maritime Ship and Port Security
Maritime Customs Activities

Netherlands-Germany NETHGER Agreement 1991

NETHGER is a bilateral agreement between the Netherlands and Germany, which provides a Joint Maritime Contingency plan on combating pollution from oil and other harmful substances in the North Sea.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources - Central Bering Sea (CCBSP)

Source: FAO Website

The Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea (CCBSP) establishes an international regime for conservation, management, and an optimum utilization of pollock resources in the Convention Area. It aims to restore and maintain the pollock resources in the Bering Sea at levels, which will permit their maximum sustainable yield. It facilitates cooperation in the gathering and examining of information concerning pollock and other living marine resources in the Bering Sea. The CCBSP has 6 members i.e. Japan, Peoples Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Poland, the Russian Federation and the United States.

Coast Guard Functions
Fisheries Inspection & Control
Countries involved

Convention on Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)

Source: CCAMLR Website

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was established by international convention in 1982 with the objective of conserving Antarctic marine life. This was in response to increasing commercial interest in Antarctic krill resources, a keystone component of the Antarctic ecosystem and a history of over-exploitation of several other marine resources in the Southern Ocean. CCAMLR is an international commission with 26 Members, and a further 10 countries have acceded to the Convention. Based on the best available scientific information, the Commission agrees a set of conservation measures that determine the use of marine living resources in the Antarctic.

Coast Guard Functions
Fisheries Inspection & Control
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response

Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT)

Source: CCSBT Website

The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for the management of southern bluefin tuna throughout its distribution. The CCSBT's main objective is to ensure, through appropriate management, the conservation and optimum utilisation of the global Southern Bluefin Tuna fishery. The Commission also provides an internationally recognised forum in which other countries and entities can actively participate in Southern Bluefin Tuna issues. Members of the Extended Commission comprise of Australia, the European Union, the Fishing Entity of Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand and South Africa.

Coast Guard Functions
Fisheries Inspection & Control
EU

Coordination Centre for Anti-Drug Enforcement in the Mediterranean (CeCLAD-M)

Source: Légifrance

The Centre de Coordination de la Lutte Anti-drogue en Méditerranée, or Coordination Centre for Anti-Drug Enforcement in the Mediterranean area was established in 2008 during the French Presidency of the EU. It is based near Paris, France, and is closely modelled on MAOC-N in Lisbon. The centre aims to intercept drug trafficking from Northern and Western Africa in the Mediterranean.

Coast Guard Functions
Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking and Smuggling and Connected Maritime Law Enforcement
Maritime Customs Activities

Bucharest Convention - Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution

Source: Black Sea Commission Website

The Bucharest Convention was signed in Bucharest in April 1992, and was ratified by all six legislative assemblies of the Black Sea countries (i.e. Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine) in 1994. It is the basic framework of agreement and has three specific Protocols, dealing with the control of land-based sources of pollution, the dumping of waste, and joint action in the case of accidents (such as oil spills). The implementation of the Convention is managed by the Commission for the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (also sometimes referred to as the Istanbul Commission), and its Permanent Secretariat is in Istanbul, Turkey.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

Mediterranean Coast Guard Functions Forum (MCGFF)

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

The Mediterranean Coast Guard Functions Forum (MCGFF) is a non-binding, voluntary, independent and non-political forum bringing together representatives from institutions and agencies with related competencies in coast guard functions in the Mediterranean. The aim is to facilitate multilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues such as maritime safety, security and environmental protection activities as well as creating partnerships to share experience and best practices on common problems.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Ship Casualty & Maritime Assistance Service
Fisheries Inspection & Control
Maritime Border Control
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking and Smuggling and Connected Maritime Law Enforcement
Maritime Search and Rescue
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Maritime Customs Activities
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Maritime Ship and Port Security

Mediterranean AIS Regional Exchange System - MareΣ

Source: Italian Coast Guard Website

The Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 requires the Member States (MSs) to provide themselves with appropriate equipment and shore-based installations for receiving and utilizing the AIS information transmitted by the vessels. The Member States agreed to implement common regional systems hosted and developed by one of them. EMSA and the Italian Coast Guard subscribed, since 2009, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) by which Italy is responsible for the hosting, maintenance, operation, and monitoring of the Mediterranean AIS Regional Server (MAREΣ) and its connection with SafeSeaNet. Part of SafeSeaNet, MAREΣ (Mediterranean AIS Regional Exchange System) officially started to run on 1st January 2008; currently it allows the AIS information sharing among Mediterranean EU countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia) and non-EU which agreed to share AIS data between themselves (e.g., Jordan, Morocco, and Montenegro).

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Maritime Search and Rescue
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Maritime Ship and Port Security