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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-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-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

Germany-Denmark – Agreement on Safety of Navigation in the KADETRENDEN

This Danish-German Arrangement on measures aimed at increasing the safety of navigation in the Kadetrenden was signed in 2001.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Countries involved

Germany-Netherlands - River ‘EMS’ VTS Working Group

This Working Group involving Germany and the Netherlands was established within the framework of EmsDollart Treaty of 8 April 1960, (D/NL)

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Countries involved

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

Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)

Source: IFC-IOR Website

The IFC-IOR stems from the importance of the Indian Ocean to world trade and security, and the need for the various maritime nations and organisations to collaborate towards enhancing maritime safety and security on the seas of this region. In addition to utilising the collective wisdom and resources towards addressing myriad challenges in the region, IFC-IOR will help interface and integrate, wherein, all partners and stakeholders would benefit from each other’s best practices and expertise. The Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard jointly administer the IFC. IFC-IOR was established with the vision of strengthening maritime security in the region and beyond, by building a common coherent maritime situation picture and acting as a maritime information hub for the region.

Coast Guard Functions
Maritime Safety Including Vessel Traffic Management
Maritime Border Control
Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking and Smuggling and Connected Maritime Law Enforcement
Maritime Monitoring and Surveillance
Maritime Accident and Disaster Response
Maritime Ship and Port Security
Countries involved

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