Image: Ajuntament Barcelona, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The working paper (pdf) is undated, although the file was created on 25 April and the introduction says it “follows the meeting of the Search and Rescue (SAR) Contact Group on 31 January 2023 that selected, as one of four strands, to work towards a better framework for operational cooperation on SAR.”
The paper notes:
“…a new form of SAR operations in the European maritime landscape has emerged in recent years, whereby vessels operated by private entities in the Central Mediterranean Sea have been engaging in SAR operations as their predominant activity. Moreover, the continuous disembarkations of rescued migrants in some coastal Member States, resulting from both national and private operations, has a significant impact on these countries’ asylum, migration and border management systems with subsequent consequences on the functioning of asylum and migration at EU level.”
It goes on to say:
“The establishment of a Framework for Operational Cooperation is intended to facilitate and reinforce information exchange and coordination among competent national authorities, including those of coastal and flag Member States, as well as other relevant stakeholders. It should help to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the various players in different SAR configurations, which require coordination firstly among Member States, and secondly between Member States and other actors, in line with existing rules defined by international and European law.”
And:
“The Framework for Operational Cooperation could be agreed, on a voluntary basis, among EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries starting with those that are SAR Contact Group members. Once agreed, it could subsequently be extended to other stakeholders, such as privately owned or operated vessels involved in rescue activities as relevant and needed, commercial vessels and shipping associations, and to the responsible authorities of other non-EU Coastal States in the Mediterranean.
In the longer term, lessons learned through the introduction and implementation of this cooperation framework could serve as basis for a further initiative within the International Maritime Organization (IMO).” [emphasis added]
Registration and certification
The draft “Roadmap towards a Framework for Operational Cooperation” inclues nine “deliverables”.
The plan for “standardisation/convergence of registration and certification rules on private vessels carrying out SAR as their predominant activity” may cause concerns amongst SAR organisations.
A plan by the German government to tighten ship registration rules would put humanitarian vessel “on an equal footing with commercial shipping and thus be subject to the requirement of a ship safety certificate.”
Multiple technical and administrative rules have also been invoked by member states in recent years to impede the activities of humanitarian SAR organisations, as highlighted by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency.
Deliverables included in the draft plan
|
Action |
Actor(s) |
Indicative milestone |
|
Deliverable 1) Agree on scope of the Framework for Operational Cooperation |
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|
Agree on the situations to which the Framework for Operational Cooperation applies |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members Frontex, European Maritime Safety Agency, European Fisheries Control Agency European Commission |
Agreement at the SAR Contact Group meeting on 16 June 2023 |
|
Deliverable 2) Improve situational awareness on SAR in the Central Mediterranean |
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|
Agree on operational actions to facilitate information sharing in the short term and medium term |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members Frontex, European Maritime Safety Agency, European Fisheries Control Agency [non-State actors, as information providers] Commission |
Technical discussion in working groups (February – May 2023) Agreement at SAR Contact Group meeting in June 2023 [Further refinement using EUROSUR and/or CISE as platform for information exchange end of 2023- early 2024] |
|
Deliverable 3) Establish operational focal points on SAR |
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|
Appoint operational focal points in the MRCCs of SAR Contact Group members and relevant EU Agencies |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members Frontex |
Agreement at the SAR Contact Group meeting in June 2023 on the establishment of focal points Nomination to take place by 15 July 2023 |
|
Deliverable 4) Agree on operational roles and responsibilities of flag and coastal States |
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|
SAR Contact Group members taking part in the Cooperation Framework agree on respective roles and responsibilities in a number of SAR scenarios |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members |
Technical discussion in working groups (February – May 2023) Agreement at SAR Contact Group Plenary, in fall 2023 |
|
Deliverable 5) Agree on the type of information that shipmasters may be asked to collect |
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|
Agree on a clearer definition of the information that shipmasters may be asked to collect about the SAR event and the rescued persons on-board for the responsible authorities |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members [non-State actors] |
Technical discussion in working groups (June – fall 2023) Agreement by the SAR Contact Group Plenary in fall 2023 |
|
Deliverable 6) Conduct consultation on the framework for operational cooperation with other stakeholders |
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|
Organise dedicated meetings with relevant stakeholders to include them in the cooperation framework |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members [non-State actors] |
Technical discussion in working groups (fall 2023-2024) Agreement by the SAR Contact Group Plenary in 2024 |
|
Deliverable 7) Develop a common understanding of distress situations |
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|
Develop a more operational and common understanding of situations of distress, based on commonly agreed indicators on the basis of existing rules and practices |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members European Commission |
Technical discussion in working groups (June – fall 2023) Agreement at SAR Contact Group Plenary, in early 2024 |
|
Deliverable 7) Develop a common understanding of distress situations |
||
|
Develop a more operational and common understanding of situations of distress, based on commonly agreed indicators on the basis of existing rules and practices |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members European Commission |
Technical discussion in working groups (June – fall 2023) Agreement at SAR Contact Group Plenary, in early 2024 |
|
Deliverable 8) Agree on standardisation/convergence of registration and certification rules on private vessels carrying out SAR as their predominant activity |
||
|
Agree on common standards / convergence of relevant rules |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members [non-State actors] |
Technical discussion in working groups (April – fall 2023) Agreement by the SAR Contact Group Plenary in fall 2023- early 2024 |
|
Deliverable 9) Launch joint initiative on SAR within IMO |
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|
Agree on content of a possible regional initiative on addressing SAR challenges in the Mediterranean |
Volunteering SAR Contact Group members |
Technical discussion in working groups (June 2023- 2024) Agreement by the SAR Contact Group Plenary in 2024 |
Documentation
