SUCBAS is a cornerstone for sea surveillance, information exchange and co-operation within the Baltic Sea area and its approaches. The aim of the co-operation is to enhance Maritime Situational Awareness benefiting maritime safety, security, environmental and law enforcement activities in the region by sharing relevant maritime data, information and knowledge between the participants. The SUCBAS cooperation comprises Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and United Kingdom. The initiative is led by the navies of these countries. In recognition of the fact that responsibility for of maritime surveillance, maritime safety, maritime security, the maritime environment and maritime law enforcement are implemented differently in each country, SUCBAS information is shared among national governmental institutions with a maritime responsibility regardless if civil or military, at their discretion.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This operational agreement covers the Pomeranian Bay and deals with co-operation and response activities concerning marine accidents and combating marine pollution by oil and other harmful substances. It will be replaced by the POLGER Agreement (please see above).

The POLGER Agreement is a bilateral operational agreement between Poland and Germany on cooperation and response activities in dealing with maritime incidents of pollution or the threat of pollution in the Baltic Sea Area involving oil and other harmful substances. Not yet in force

The Irish Coast Guard (ICG), Dept. of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) signed an MOU under the IMO International Convention for Maritime Search and Rescue to cooperate in the case of major disaster or events of exceptional seriousness, assist one another through their search and rescue services. The MOU defines the formal procedures and technical aspects of the request of assistance between the ICG coordination centres and the UK MCA and both parties further recognise that similar support may be possible in the event of maritime casualties within their EEZs.

The European Coast Guard Functions Forum (ECGFF) is a self-governing, non-binding, voluntary, independent and non-political forum bringing together the Coast Guard authorities from 25 EU Member States and Schengen associated countries, as well as representatives of the EU institutions and bodies with competencies related to EU CG Functions. Since its establishment in 2009 the European Commission and EU Agencies, have supported the ECGFF. The rotating chair, supported by a secretariat, governs the Forum with responsibility to implement the annual programme. Bringing together over 30 national coastguard authorities from EU countries and associated Schengen countries, it works on collaborative issues i.e. multi-agency, multinational operations and capacity building among CG academies.