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Abbreviation
BE
IntlOrg

BELGIUM

1.Greening Operations

Application of remote measurements for compliance monitoring and enforcement of SO2 and NOx emissions under MARPOL Annex VI

Submitted by Ioana.Hartescu on

Since 2015, with funding from the Connecting Europe Facility program, the Belgian Coastguard Aircraft has been equipped with a sniffer sensor to measure ship emissions of ocean-going vessels at sea. This sensor allows the Belgian coastguard aircraft to monitor compliance with ship emission regulations.  

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

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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