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FRANCE

Ireland-France SAR Technical Agreement

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

This agreement aims at establishing the technical terms and procedures for requests for assistance between the Irish Coast Guard coordination Centre and the French Maritime Prefecture for the Atlantic ocean, to implement air assets in complex or serious SAR operations e.g. operating far offshore within the SRR of the contracting parties.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France (New-Caledonia)-Vanuatu: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (2004)

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

The Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu passed an agreement on maritime search and rescue, recalling that the SAR conference held in Seoul (Korea) in 1997 made France responsible for a maritime Search and Rescue Region (SRR), in which Vanuatu is geographically located. In this SRR, the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre is MRCC Nouméa, under the authority of the Haut-Commissaire de la République en Nouvelle-Calédonie délégué du Gouvernement.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France-Cyprus: Agreement on Maritime and Port Security

Source: Ministry of Interior / Ministry of Defence – Maritime Gendarmerie

An agreement between French maritime Gendarmerie and Cyprus Maritime Police where both parties cooperate on exchange of crewmembers, education on maritime security (given by the French Maritime Gendarmerie), support to the re-organisation of Cyprus CROPMar, etc. Planned to exchange information.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Ship and Port Security
Countries involved

France-China: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation in the maritime search and rescue area (2005)

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

The French Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China passed an Arrangement on maritime search and rescue and maritime assistance, aimed to improve skills, techniques and technology in life saving at sea. This agreement also enables the Parties to exchange information about ways, approaches and the regime to organize and coordinate both government and non-government rescue forces and resources.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon)-Canada: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (2002)

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

Following the report of the International Maritime Organization Conference on Maritime Search and Rescue in the Atlantic Ocean, which was held in Lisbon, Portugal in 1994, Canada and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon agreed an Arrangement on maritime SAR. The Parties confirmed that the French territorial sea of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is included in the Canadian Search and Rescue Region of Halifax (SRR Halifax), for which the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre is JRCC Halifax.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France (La Réunion)-Australia: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (2000)

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

The Chief Executive, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and Le Préfet de La Reunion, Délégué du Gouvernement pour l’action de l’Etat en mer, recognising the importance of cooperation in maritime SAR 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. This Arrangement was amended in 2011.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue
Countries involved

France (New-Caledonia)-Australia: Bilateral Arrangement for Cooperation between SAR Services (1999)

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

The Chief Executive, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and the Haut Commissaire de la République française en Nouvelle-Calédonie, Délégué du Gouvernement, recognising the importance of cooperation in maritime SAR 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

Fisheries Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF)

Source: FAO Website

The purpose of the Committee is to promote the sustainable utilization of the living marine resources within its area of competence by the proper management and development of the fisheries and fishing operations. Established in 1967, its members are Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, the Democratic Rep. of the Congo, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, European Union, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, Togo, and the United States of America.

Coast Guard Functions
Fisheries Inspection & Control

General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)

Source: FAO Website

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) is a regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) established under the provisions of Article XIV of the FAO Constitution. The main objective of the GFCM is to ensure the conservation and the sustainable use, at the biological, social, economic and environmental level, of living marine resources as well as the sustainable development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea (GFCM area of application). The GFCM is currently composed of 24 members (23 member countries and the European Union) who contribute to its autonomous budget to finance its functioning and 5 Cooperating non Contracting Parties (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Jordan, Moldova and Ukraine).

Coast Guard Functions
Fisheries Inspection & Control

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)

Source: FAO Website

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the FAO supports all efforts to promote Blue Growth - with its emphasis on reconciling social and economic development with environmental performance - to all fisheries and aquaculture policies. It promotes and supports the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, in addition to providing scientific advice, strategic planning, and training materials. It serves as a neutral forum to discuss issues related to international cooperation and multistakeholder approaches. The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) used by the FAO is the appropriate and practical way to implement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

Coast Guard Functions
Fisheries Inspection & Control

European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM)

Source: European Commission Website

The overall objective of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is to strengthen cooperation between the EU Member States and 6 Participating States in the field of civil protection, with a view to improve prevention, preparedness and response to disasters. When the scale of an emergency overwhelms the response capabilities of a country, it can request assistance via the Mechanism. The European Commission plays a key role in coordinating the response to disasters in Europe and beyond and contributes to at least 75% of the transport and/or operational costs of deployments. In addition to the EU Member States, the six participating states are Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response

Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Port State Control

Source: Paris MOU Website

The Paris MOU is based on the principle that the prime responsibility for compliance with the requirements laid down in the international maritime conventions lies with the ship-owner/operator. Responsibility for ensuring compliance remains with the flag State. It aims to eliminate the operation of sub-standard ships through a harmonized system of port State control. The members are Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Maritime Environmental Protection & Response
Maritime Ship and Port Security

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