European Maritime Safety Agency
Encyclopedia
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is a European Union agency
charged with reducing the risk of maritime accidents
, marine pollution
from ships and the loss of human lives at sea
by helping to enforce the pertinent EU legislation. It is headquartered in Lisbon
.
In doing so, EMSA closely cooperates with the Member States' maritime services.
and the oil tankers Erika
and Prestige
. It was felt that a specialised technical agency was necessary to overview the enforcement of this legislation and help in its implementation.
EMSA is headquartered in Lisbon
, Portugal
, and moved in June 2009 to new, purpose-built premises near Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. It has a staff of just under 200 and operates a small network (at the end of 2009, 16 vessels) of stand-by oil recovery vessels contracted from the commercial sector, designed to provide top-up capacity to Member States' own response resources. Its Executive Director is Willem de Ruiter.
The 2008 budget for EMSA was just over EUR
50,000,000, of which over a third, EUR 18,000,000 is specifically used for at sea pollution response tasks.
Agencies of the European Union
An agency of the European Union is a decentralised body of the European Union , which are distinct from the institutions. Agencies are established to accomplish specific tasks. Each agency has its own legal personality...
charged with reducing the risk of maritime accidents
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
, marine pollution
Marine pollution
Marine pollution occurs when harmful, or potentially harmful effects, can result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise, or the spread of invasive organisms. Most sources of marine pollution are land based...
from ships and the loss of human lives at sea
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
by helping to enforce the pertinent EU legislation. It is headquartered in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
.
Mission
EMSA has the following mission:- assist the CommissionEuropean CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
in preparing EU legislation in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships - assist the Commission in the effective implementation of EU legislation on maritime safety and maritime security, in particular by monitoring the overall functioning of the EU port State control regime,
- organise training activities, develop technical solutions and provide technical assistance related to the implementation of EU legislation
- help develop a common methodology for investigating maritime accidents
- provide data on maritime safety and on pollution by ships and help improve the identification and pursuit of ships making unlawful discharges
In doing so, EMSA closely cooperates with the Member States' maritime services.
History and structure
EMSA was founded in 2002, after the EU adopted substantial packages of legislation relating to maritime security in the wake of major shipping disasters in European waters, such as those involving the ferry EstoniaM/S Estonia
MS Estonia, previously MS Viking Sally , MS Silja Star , and MS Wasa King , was a cruise ferry built in 1979/80 at the German shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg. The ship sank in the Baltic Sea in one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century...
and the oil tankers Erika
Erika (tanker)
Erika was the name of a tanker built in 1975 and last chartered by Total-Fina-Elf. She sank off the coast of France in 1999, causing a major environmental disaster.- Background :Erika was one of eight sister ships built in Japan...
and Prestige
Prestige oil spill
The Prestige oil spill was an oil spill off the coast of Galicia caused by the sinking of an oil tanker in 2002. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than one thousand beaches on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast, as well as causing great harm to the local fishing...
. It was felt that a specialised technical agency was necessary to overview the enforcement of this legislation and help in its implementation.
EMSA is headquartered in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and moved in June 2009 to new, purpose-built premises near Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. It has a staff of just under 200 and operates a small network (at the end of 2009, 16 vessels) of stand-by oil recovery vessels contracted from the commercial sector, designed to provide top-up capacity to Member States' own response resources. Its Executive Director is Willem de Ruiter.
The 2008 budget for EMSA was just over EUR
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
50,000,000, of which over a third, EUR 18,000,000 is specifically used for at sea pollution response tasks.