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FRANCE

France-Portugal: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (2008)

Source: Ministry for an Ecological and Solidary Transition – Directorate for Maritime Affairs

The Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Portuguese Republic passed an agreement for the exchange of information between the French Antilles and the Portuguese maritime search and rescue services. The maritime rescue coordination centres (MRCCs) of the two Parties shall regularly exchange the information, especially when a SAR operation is launched on the high seas in their search and rescue area. They shall exchange information on the available units in proximity to the location of the alert and carry out combined liaison tests at least to ensure their capacity to communicate.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France (New-Caledonia)-New Zealand: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (2002)

Source: Ministry for an Ecological and Solidary Transition – Directorate for Maritime Affairs

The Director of Civil Aviation, New Zealand, and the Haut Commissaire de la République française en Nouvelle-Calédonie, Délégué du Gouvernement, passed an arrangement for cooperation between New Zealand Search and Rescue Services and French Maritime Search and Rescue Services in New Caledonia. This arrangement especially defines the standard operating procedures for the Rescue Coordination Centres (RCCs), particularly the determination of the Responsible RCCs, the transferring of SAR Coordination Responsibility or the liaison during a SAR operation.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France-Monaco: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (1999)

Source: Ministry for an Ecological and Solidary Transition – Directorate for Maritime Affairs

The Government of the French Republic and the Government of His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco passed an agreement on maritime search and rescue, recalling that the SAR conference held in Valencia (Spain) in 1997 on the initiative of the International Maritime Organization assigned France a maritime Search and Rescue Region (SRR) in the Mediterranean Sea. Monegasque territorial waters shall be included in the SRR assigned to France in the Mediterranean Sea. In this SRR, the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre shall be CROSS La Garde, under the authority of the Préfet maritime de la Méditerranée. In the context of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), this centre shall receive alerts coming from Monegasque territorial waters.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France-Mauritius Island : Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (2011)

Source: Ministry for an Ecological and Solidary Transition – Directorate for Maritime Affairs

The Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Mauritius Republic passed an agreement on maritime search and rescue, establishing cooperation between the different authorities. This arrangement especially defines the standard operating procedures for the Rescue Coordination Centres (RCCs), particularly the determination of the responsible RCCs, the communication about the search areas, the transferring of SAR coordination responsibility or the liaison during a SAR operation. This agreement also deals with the use of the different SAR assets belonging to the two Parties and the SAR operational expenses.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France (La Réunion)-South Africa: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (2001)

Source: Ministry for an Ecological and Solidary Transition – Directorate for Maritime Affairs

The Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the French Republic, recognising the importance of cooperation in maritime Search and Rescue, and the need to ensure expeditious and effective search and rescue services, passed and Arrangement on maritime search and rescue. The Rescue Coordination Centres of both parties will especially assist each other, to the extent possible, in the conduct of SAR missions in their respective Search and Rescue Regions (SRRs) and across their common SRRs boundaries and will regularly exchange SAR information concerning an actual distress or a potential distress situation.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France-Italy-Spain SAR MEDOCC

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

SAR MEDOCC is a technical agreement between France, Spain and Italy on SAR organization in Western Mediterranean Sea and adjacent areas, in force since 1972. It aims at coordinating the SAR organizations of the three contracting parties regarding aircrafts in distress, according to Chicago convention on International Civil Aviation, and, as far as possible, safety of life at sea or ashore. Morocco takes part as an observer.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France-Spain BISCAYE Plan

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

Through this bilateral plan, the French and the Spanish authorities agree for joint action in the case of maritime rescue, assistance to ship in distress, and marine pollution in the Bay of Biscay. The area is delimited by parallels 42°30’N and 46°00’N, meridian 10°25’W, and French and Spanish coasts. A separation line marks the limits of the areas of initial responsibility.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Ship Casualty & Maritime Assistance Service
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Search and Rescue
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

France-Spain LION Plan

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

This bilateral operational cooperation plan signed in 1972 and updated in 2016 schedules terms of collaboration between French and Spanish authorities in the field of maritime rescue, marine pollution and assistance to ships in distress in the Mediterranean Sea. It gives details on the availability of air and naval assets in an area delimited by French and Spanish SRR as well as in the specific area of the LION Plan.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Ship Casualty & Maritime Assistance Service
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Search and Rescue
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

France-Italy-Monaco RAMOGEPOL Plan

Source: Ramoge Website

The RAMOGE Agreement between France, Italy and Monaco establishes a joint intervention plan for spill response in the Mediterranean Sea (from the mouth of Rhône river on the West, to the lighthouse of Capo d’Anzio in the East, including Corsica and Sardinia islands). The area is divided into 2 sub-areas, one where each party shall provide assets in an automatic way, and the other where joint intervention is scheduled only after request to national authority concerned by the pollution. The plan describes all the operational procedures, assets available, time to mobilize, expertise, national doctrines for use of dispersants etc.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Ship Casualty & Maritime Assistance Service
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Search and Rescue
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

France-Spain: Technical Arrangement for Joint Maritime Border Surveillance

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

Since 2008, this technical agreement between the French Maritime Gendarmerie and Spanish Guardia Civil comes down to meetings, joint patrols on Atlantic and Mediterranean border sections, personnel exchange during illegal immigration and fishery control operations. In 2020, operations for securing Spanish leisure areas (for instance in the Baleares islands) will be added.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Border Control
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Countries involved

France-Italy-Monaco RAMOGE Agreement

Source: Ramoge Website

In force since 1976, the RAMOGE Agreement is a scientific, technical, legal and administrative cooperation instrument by which the governments of France, Monaco and Italy implement actions for an integrated management of the coastline. The main objective is to coordinate the actions of the three parties to protect Mediterranean littoral waters. It is part of Barcelona Convention, and has an executive secretariat in Monaco. The area of the RAMOGE Agreement encompasses the maritime waters of South-East France (Region Sud-Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur), Monaco, and North-West of Italy (Region of Liguria), forming a pilot zone for prevention of and response to maritime pollution.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

France-United Kingdom MANCHE Plan

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

This bilateral agreement signed in 1978 and regularly updated aims at coordinating French and UK capabilities in case of maritime disaster in their adjacent waters. Its guideline is the designation of a single authority for the coordination of the response involving the two parties. An Anglo French accident technical group (AFATG) meets twice a year.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Ship Casualty & Maritime Assistance Service
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Search and Rescue
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

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