EMSA prepares for another busy year
The EMSA marine operations centre.
As staff settle into their new riverside headquarters in Lisbon the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has announced its 2010 work programme, including plans to develop new projects, improve existing activities and illustrate the value of the agency to EU Member States and the European public in general.
Technological developments are increasingly giving EMSA the tools to enhance existing roles and develop new activities intended to provide technical and scientific assistance to Member States based around the main themes of safety, security and keeping the seas pollution free. Maritime surveillance is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the Agency’s work, aimed at enhancing security and combating pollution. Information is available on a common knowledge basis to responsible authorities across the EU, allowing them to respond to security threats and pollution incidents as well as implementing EU legislation on maritime safety.
A developing area is EMSA’s hosting of the EU Long Range Identification and Tracking System Data Centre. LRIT extends beyond EU boundaries however, and EMSA recognises the requirement for an International Data Exchange to gather information from the network of individual International Data Centres. Proposals have been made to IMO for the hosting of a permanent IDE at EMSA’s premises. The idea is to bring together the many tools now available to the whole industry as well as EMSA, including SafeSeaNet, CleanSeaNet, LRIT, AIS and HAZMAT notifications.
Recognising the importance of well educated and trained seafarers in maintaining a safe, secure and environmentally friendly industry and with a large number of non-EU certificated seafarers working on EU flagged vessels, the EU Commission along with EMSA has now taken over monitoring of training standards of individual Member States and around 50 countries outside of the EU.
As reported in MJ, EMSA has in place a network of stand-by oil spill recovery vessels, part of its remit to provide additional support to Member States in their preparedness, detection capabilities and response to oil and HNS spills. The arrangements will be expanded in 2010 to provide additional cover for the Eastern Mediterranean, this in addition to continuing to monitor the effectiveness of and developing the capability of the existing arrangements.
In addition to enhancing the CleanSeaNet oil spill detection and monitoring service, 2010 will see the increasing availability of the ‘MAR-ICE Network’ (Marine Intervention in Chemical Emergencies), assisting individual country’s responses to marine chemical emergencies. The service is based on the existing ICE network for road and rail transport.
EMSA’s increasing involvement in Port State Control, classification society inspections, the monitoring of the implementation of EU maritime regulation and improving accident investigation are just a few examples of the myriad activities within EMSA due to come under the spotlight in what will clearly be a busy year for this important EU agency finding itself with an increasing influence on maritime safety.
By Peter Barker
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