The Marine Accident Investigators’ International Forum (MAIIF) is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of maritime safety and the prevention of marine pollution through the exchange of ideas, experiences and information acquired in marine accident investigation. It aims to promote and improve marine accident investigation, and to foster cooperation and communication between marine accident investigators. It aims to develop and sustain a co-operative relationship among national marine investigators in order to share knowledge in an international forum, and to improve maritime safety and the prevention of pollution via the dissemination of information from the investigative process. 

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.

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).

The Black Sea Cooperation Forum was established in 2000, between the Coast Guard / Border Authorities of the Black Sea states, namely Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russian Federation and Georgia. The main purpose is to enhance peace, stability and maritime security in the Black Sea area, by increasing regional co-operation, and improving good relationship. Its tasks include enhancing existing interaction among border/coast guard agencies to prevent illegal activities, as well as strengthening the safety and security of navigation in the Black Sea. It conducts counterterrorism and weapon of mass destruction non-proliferation activities. It aims to help improve cooperation in the areas of fishery protection, search and rescue, marine pollution, marine environmental protection, information exchange, personnel exchange programs, joint/shared training.

AQUAPOL’s vision is for a more safe, secure and environmental-friendly waterborne transport in Europe by enhancement of law-enforcement through cross-border cooperation. The AQUAPOL organisation acts as a platform for learning and for a permanent exchange of good practice for law-enforcement in the domain of waterborne transport in Europe. Its main activities are focussed on exchange of intelligence, exchange of operational information and experience, and cross border cooperation in day-to-day law-enforcement work. AQUAPOL works closely together with a number of external stakeholders at operational, policy, and legislative level.