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PORTUGAL

Virtual-Regional Maritime Traffic Centre (V-RMTC)/Trans-Regional Maritime Network (T-RMN)

The V-RMTC is a virtual network connecting Maritime Operation Centres of member Navies. Through the system, based on commercial hardware and a software developed within the Italian Navy, it is possible to share among participants selected unclassified information related to merchant shipping (bigger than 300 tons). The hub of the V-RMTC is located in Rome, at the Italian Maritime Operation Centre (MOC) of the Fleet Command Headquarter (CINCNAV). The MOC gathers and merges the information received, broadcasts a single near-real time recognized picture to all V-RMTC participating Navies. The community has 33 member Navies. V-RMTC: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK, the US. T-RMN: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Peru. Following Navies may also join - Ghana, Qatar, Australia, Japan, Cameroon, and Ecuador.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance

Portugal-Spain ESPPS Exchange of Situational Picture of Neighbouring External Border Sections between the National Coordination Centres

Source: GNR Website

According to the EUROSUR regulation, the national coordination centres of neighbouring Member States shall share with each other, directly and in near real time, the situational picture of neighbouring external border sections. In this regard the information collected from the national surveillance systems in the neighbouring border sections of Portugal and Spain is shared directly and in near real time among them, contributing to improve the situational awareness and to increase reaction capability.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Countries involved

Portugal-Spain Memorandum of Cooperation between GNR and Guardia Civil

Source: GNR Website

Establishes effective coordination pillars, especially for the exchange of information, supported in the case of police operations, reinforcement of training programs and management of services and staff.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Countries involved

France-Portugal Cooperation Plan: On Request for Assistance in Case of Large-scale Spill Response

Source: Secretariat General for the Sea - CGF Ops Center

This operational cooperation plan applies to large-scale spill response (oil, HNS). It establishes the technical conditions and procedures for requests for assistance between the General Direction of the Maritime Authority (Portugal) and the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic (France) regarding the deployment and activation of assets. The applicable area is between the parallels 40°N and 46°N, and from the meridian 14°W, to the Portuguese, Spanish and French coasts. The parties may agree to extend it beyond this area in case of exceptional situation.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Ship Casualty & Maritime Assistance Service
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Countries involved

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

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

European Search and Rescue Plan (EUR Doc 039) - International Civil Aviation Organisation

Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) UN Agency Website

The Plan aims to identify the status of SAR preparedness of EUR Region States and State SAR arrangements. It also makes recommendations for SAR planning and preparedness enhancements, in terms of compliance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Annex 12, the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual guidance, and accepted best international practice. It provides recommendations to IMO for harmonised and interoperable delivery of both aeronautical and maritime SAR services. It requires regular updating to keep current with changes in ICAO Annexes and guidance material, the IAMSAR Manual, regional aviation activity, developments in ATM system, new technology, political considerations, as well as human performance lessons learned from actual SAR responses.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Search and Rescue

International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)

Source: IALAAISM website

IALA is a non-profit, international technical association. Established in 1957, it gathers marine aids to navigation authorities, manufacturers, consultants, and, scientific and training institutes from all parts of the world to exchange and compare their experiences and achievements. IALA members work together to harmonise aids to navigation worldwide and to ensure that the movements of vessels are safe, expeditious and cost effective. A number of technical committees were established to bring together experts from around the world to work in specific areas e.g. needs of mariners, developments in technology, etc.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management

OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic

Source: OSPAR Website

OSPAR is the mechanism by which 15 Governments & the EU cooperate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. OSPAR was started in 1972 with the Oslo Convention against dumping and was broadened to cover land-based sources of marine pollution and the offshore industry by the Paris Convention of 1974. These two conventions were unified, up-dated and extended in 1992 with a new annex on biodiversity and ecosystems was adopted in 1998 to cover non-polluting human activities that can adversely affect the sea. The fifteen Governments are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and UK.

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

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

Source: ICAO Website

The International Civil Aviation Organization is a UN specialized agency, established in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention). ICAO works with the Convention’s 193 Member States and industry groups to reach consensus on international civil aviation Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and policies in support of a safe, efficient, secure, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector. These ensure local civil aviation operations and regulations conform to global norms, allowing more than 100,000 daily flights in aviation’s global network to operate safely and reliably, many over the world’s oceans and seas.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response

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