COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Revision of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency Accompanying the document PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Maritime Safety Agency and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002
Date: 2023-06-01
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: European Maritime Safety Agency, digitisation, marine pollution, maritime safety, operation of the Institutions, pollution from ships, prevention of pollution, sustainable mobility, transport accident

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 1.6.2023  SWD(2023) 147 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Revision of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency Accompanying the document PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Maritime  Safety Agency and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 {COM(2023) 269 final}  
 
 
Table of contents 

1. 

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 2 

2.  EMSA: AT THE HEART OF THE EU’S QUALITY SHIPPING ............................. 4 

3.  REVISING EMSA’S MANDATE ............................................................................ 14 

4.  EXPANDED FUTURE TASKS OF THE AGENCY ............................................... 27 

5.  CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................... 32 

ANNEX I: EMSA’S CURRENT MANDATE AND TASKS .......................................... 33 

ANNEX II- COST ESTIMATIONS ................................................................................. 37 

ANNEX III-TABLE WITH EXPANDED TASKS FOR EMSA ..................................... 60 

ANNEX IV-FACTUAL SUMMARY REPORT ON THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION 72 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The first building blocks of European maritime safety policy were laid out at the beginning of the 
1990s, following the Aegean Sea (1992) and Brear (1993) oil tanker accidents. As the EU’s internal 
market  deepened,  the  risks  in  shipping  activities  were  acknowledged,  which  made  the  need  for 
stronger  European  action  on  maritime  safety  clear.  European-level  efforts  in  the  field  underwent 
significant acceleration following the Erika (1999) and the Prestige (2002) oil tanker accidents. By 
causing  extremely  high-cost  damage  to  the  environment,  as  well  as  to  the  fishery  and  tourism 
sectors, these accidents highlighted the need to take action in upgrading the EU legal framework on 
maritime safety but also the operational need for pollution prevention and response. The Erika oil 
tanker accident (1999) led to the proposal of the so-called Erika I (COM(2000) 142) and Erika II 
(COM  (2000)  802)  Maritime  Safety  packages.  These  respectively  comprised  a  set  of  short-term 
measures  and  a  set  of  more  complex,  long-term  actions  aimed  at  enhancing  European  maritime 
safety policy.  

In particular, the Erika II Package provided for the establishment of the European Maritime Safety 
Agency (EMSA) (“the Agency”), with the specific aim of supporting both the Commission and EU 
Member  States  with  the  application  and  monitoring  of  Community  legislation  in  the  field  of 
maritime  safety,  as  well  with  the  evaluation  of  its  effectiveness.  EMSA  was  then  established  by 
Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of 27 June 2002, with the purpose to ensure a ‘high, uniform and 
effective level of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships within the Community’.  

Following the adoption of its founding Regulation, successive amendments progressively expanded 
the Agency’s objectives and tasks to adapt its activities to the evolution of European policy in the 
field. Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 has been modified five times since 2002, mainly due to the 
evolution of the EU's maritime legislation. 

The first modification1 to the EMSA founding Regulation was of a horizontal nature and concerned 
financial and budgetary procedures as well as transparency. In the light of the “Prestige” accident in 
2002,  the  second  modification2  which  entered  into  force  in  May  2004  brought  considerable  new 
tasks  to  the  Agency  in  particular  regarding  pollution  preparedness  and  response.  This  second 
revision took also into account the development of EU competence in the area of maritime security, 
requesting  the  Agency  to  provide  technical  assistance  to  the  Commission  inspections  in  the 
framework  of  Regulation  725/20043  on  enhancing  ship  and  port  facility  security.  The  third 
modification4  provided  EMSA  with  a  multi-annual  financial  framework  of  154  M  EUR  for  the 
pollution response activities for the period 2007-2013. The  fourth modification5 which came into 
force  in  2013  provided  for  the  current  structure  of  the  mandate  with  a  division  of  the  Agency’s 
tasks between core and ancillary tasks in order to tackle budget constraints while also expanded the 
objectives by including response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations. Finally, the 

1 First modification by Regulation (EC) No 1644/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
22 July 2003, OJ L 245 of 29.9.2003, p. 10. 
2 Second modification by Regulation (EC) No 724/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 31 March 2004, OJ L 129 of 29.4.2004, p. 1. 
3 Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on 
enhancing ship and port facility security, OJ L 129 of 29.4.2004, p. 6 
4 Third modification by Regulation (EC) No 2038/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
18 December 2006, OJ L 394 of 30.12.2006, p. 1, see also the corrigendum in OJ L 30 of 3.2.2007, p. 
12. 
5 Fourth modification by Regulation (EU) No 100/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 
2013, OJ L 39, 9.2.2013, p. 30 

2 

 
                                                 
fifth  and  last  modification6  provided  for  the  coast  guard  cooperation  between  EMSA,  European 
Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) 
in order to allow an efficient and effective support to national authorities carrying out coast guard 
functions  with  the  inclusion  of  a  similar  Article  to  the  mandates  of  all  the  three  aforementioned 
Agencies.  

Overall,  through  the  above  amendments,  the  Agency  has  become  a  key  actor  in  the  provision  of 
technical, scientific and operational assistance in the fields of maritime safety and security, as well 
as in that of prevention of and response to pollution caused by ships and oil and gas installations.  

However,  over  the  past  few  years,  EMSA  has  nonetheless  further  expanded  its  activities  and 
services to respond to maritime sector actors’ new needs in a changing environment. These changes 
in the maritime landscape are on at least five different levels: 

1)  the changes in maritime technologies, practices and the natural evolution of a sector subject 

to increased global competition and geostrategic considerations;  

2)  the evolution of the international maritime agenda, notably since the adoption in 2018 of the 
International  Maritime  Organisation  (IMO)’s  initial  strategy  to  reduce  Greenhouse  Gases 
(GHG) emissions in line with the internationally agreed temperature goals under the Paris 
Agreement – and the policy discussions currently undergoing both to implement in practice 
such ambition and review the initial strategy;  

3)  the  evolution  in  the  EU’s  own  policy  and  political  priorities,  including  the  larger  role 
devoted  to  decarbonisation  and  sustainability  efforts,  as  reflected  in  the  European  Green 
Deal,7 the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy8, the “Fit for 55” package9 and the Zero 
Pollution Action Plan10, to name the most notable ones; as well as the parallel revisions of a 
great  part  of  the  European  maritime  safety  acquis,  in  particular  the  EU  legislation  on  the 
responsibilities of Member States as flag states11, port states12 and in investigating maritime 
accidents13,  while  also  there  is  an  upcoming  revision  of  the  Ship  Source  Pollution 
Directive14; and 

4)   the progressive digitalisation of exchanges of information between maritime operators and 

administrations, often accompanied by a harmonised digital environment. 

5)  The growing demand over the years for services provided to Member States related to the 

maritime awareness, maritime surveillance and the support to emergencies at sea. 

6 Fourth modification by Regulation (EU) 2016/1625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 
2016 
7 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en 
8 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy  – putting European transport 
on track for the future, COM/2020/789 final 
9 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_3541 
10SWD(2021) 
outlook_en.pdf 
11https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12640-Compliance-with-Flag-State-
requirements-shipping-_en 
12  https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12641-Port-State-control-Further-improving-
safety-security-and-sustainability-of-maritime-transport_en 
13 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12642-Maritime-Accident-Investigation_en 
14https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12680-Maritime-sector-revising-the-EU-
rules-on-illegal-discharges-from-ships_en 

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/zero-pollution-action-plan/swd-monitoring-

final, 

141 

3 

 
 
                                                 
2.  EMSA: AT THE HEART OF THE EU’S QUALITY SHIPPING 

2.1.  EMSA’s expanding mandate 

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) was created in 2002 as part of the second maritime 
safety package in a general effort to improve maritime safety in European waters after a number of 
maritime accidents, some of them leading to environmental catastrophes in Europe. However, since 
then  the  activities  of  the  Agency  have  increased  in  various  aspects  of  the  maritime  sector  and  a 
short description of what the Agency is doing today could be found below.  

Safety  

Maritime safety is at the heart of EMSA’s work. EMSA contributes through technical expertise and 
research, including through the provision  of studies and analysis on different  aspects  of maritime 
safety,  like  fire  safety  on  container  vessels,  passenger  ship  safety,  and  ship  steering  and 
manoeuvrability. EMSA also works on safety aspects related to new technologies, like autonomous 
ships, alternative fuels, and alternative sources of power for ships (e.g. electrification), which will 
gain  even  more  importance  over  the  coming  years.  In  general,  the  Agency  provides  technical 
support to the Commission and Member States and supports them during the ongoing discussions at 
IMO,  including  at  the  different  technical  working  and  correspondence  groups  and  assists  in  the 
technical preparation and analysis of submissions to IMO. 

EMSA’s role in relation to accident investigation is to bring together the Member States’ accident 
investigation  bodies  to  encourage  a  more  uniform  approach  as  well  as  to  provide  technical  and 
operational  support  and  training.  Moreover,  the  Agency  hosts  the  European  Marine  Casualty 
Information  Platform  (EMCIP),  a  centralised  database,  through  which  Member  States  store  and 
analyse  information  on  maritime  casualties  and  safety  incidents,  which  is  hosted  at  EMSA. 
EMCIP’s data can add value by identifying safety issues, as well as pointing out possible measures 
that could be made to implement an enhanced safety culture at sea. 

Support  to  Maritime  Administrations  in  their  Flag  State  implementation  effort  and  in  their  Port 
State  Control  role  is  also  a  key  part  of  EMSA’s  work.  In  this  regard,  the  Agency  conducts 
worldwide  inspections  of  the  offices  of  the  ship  inspection  and  certification  companies 
(classification societies)  authorised to  conduct  such technical  surveys on-board EU flagged ships. 
The  Agency  provides  knowledge-based  solutions  and  expertise,  hosting  specific  applications, 
databases such as the Port State control database THETIS, and digital services to assist the broader 
maritime community. 

When  it  comes  to  the  human  element,  EMSA  is  conducting  the  inspections  of  the  seafarers’ 
education and certification systems of third countries recognised at the EU level. 

Sustainability 

EMSA offers expertise in the field of environmental protection and decarbonisation of the shipping 
sector, helping the European Commission and EU Member States address a wide variety of ship-
sourced water and air pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from ships. 

As  knowledge  hub  and  as  the  developer  and  provider  of  tools  and  services  EMSA  is  also  giving 
support to the ‘Fit for 55 Package’ adopted in 2021 which encompasses the Zero Pollution Action 
Plan, the FuelEU Maritime Initiative and the extension of the European Emissions Trading System 
(ETS) to maritime transport, in line with the EU’s 2030 climate objectives and the European Green 
Deal.  EMSA  is  supporting  the  Commission  in  the  implementation  of  the  EU  maritime  MRV 

4 

 
Regulation 15, notably the development and management of the THETIS MRV IT system, to collect 
data  from  the  monitoring,  reporting  and  verification  of  emissions  from  ships,  which  will  be 
necessary to the extension of the ETS to maritime and to the FuelEU Regulation.  

With THETIS-EU, EMSA supports Member State environmental enforcement efforts in relation to 
the  Sulphur  Directive  and  the  Port  Reception  Facilities  PRF  Directive.  EMSA’s  assistance  in  the 
development  and  hosting  of  relevant  IT  systems  in  support  of  the  implementation  of  different 
pieces of EU environmental legislation cast the Agency as the main provider of tools in support of 
the ongoing effort towards greener maritime shipping.    

Technical  work  in  support  of  the  European  Commission  and  Member  States  is  also  provided  on 
alternative fuels and sources of renewable energy, marine litter, underwater noise, the Directive on 
ship-source  pollution,  the  Zero  Pollution  initiative,  and  Greenhouse  Gases  reduction  policies  at 
international  and  European  level  thus  confirming  the  commitment  of  the  Agency  towards 
sustainability  goals  and  greener  shipping.  EMSA  also  supports  the  implementation  of  the  Zero 
Pollution Action Plan, including addressing and monitoring air pollution, marine pollution, marine 
litter and underwater noise. 

To mitigate shipping-related environmental risks, there is a need to get an informed picture of the 
current  situation  and  trends.  To  that  effect,  EMSA,  together  with  the  European  Environment 
Agency (EEA), produced since 2021 the European Maritime Transport Environmental Report and 
this will become a regular report in support of decision-making.  

EMSA offers a range of services to help coastal States around Europe respond quickly, effectively 
and efficiently to oil or chemical marine pollution incidents from ships and oil and gas installations. 

The  services  offered  by  the  Agency  can  be  described  as  a  “toolbox”  from  which  the  requesting 
State can pick and choose the most suitable response means. Through these services, EMSA aims 
to complement and top-up existing response resources at national and regional level. 

The services include: 

  A  network  of  stand-by  oil  spill  response  vessels  made  available  through  contracts  with 
commercial vessel operators. EMSA’s contracted vessels have been specifically adapted for 
oil spill response operations, including for most of them the use of small drones to facilitate 
recovery operations, and are on stand-by, carrying out their usual commercial activities. 

  The  Equipment  Assistance  Service  (EAS),  which  consists  of  stand-alone  oil  pollution 
response equipment stockpiles in selected areas around Europe. This service complements 
the response capacity available through EMSA’s network of oil spill response vessels. The 
EAS  equipment  is  on  stand-by,  ready  to  be  mobilised  around-the-clock  anywhere  in 
European waters and shared sea basins. 

  A set of dispersant stockpiles across Europe available to Member States. 

15  Regulation  (EU)  2015/757  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  29  April  2015  on  the  monitoring, 
reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC, 
OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 55 

5 

 
 
 
                                                 
 
  The MAR-ICE Network of experts, who provide upon request product-specific information 
and specialist advice on chemicals involved in maritime emergencies, both remotely (MAR-
ICE level 1) and on-site at the requester’s command centre (MAR-ICE level 2). The MAR-
ICE Network is available 24/7 to EU Member States, EFTA coastal States, and coastal EU 
Candidate Countries via a dedicated contact point. 

Coast guard cooperation  

In order to set up a European cooperation among authorities carrying out coast guard functions, the 
mandates of Frontex, EMSA and EFCA were amended in parallel in October 2016.  

The three Agencies play a crucial role in providing common information, surveillance and training 
services  to  national  authorities  as  well  as  in  planning  and  carrying  out  multipurpose  operations, 
based on capacity sharing. 

Under  this  framework,  EMSA  provides  surveillance  services  to  the  other  two  Agencies  and  the 
Member  States  through  the  Integrated  Maritime  System,  through  tracking  of  vessels,  satellite 
images and real time maritime surveillance through drones (Remoted Piloted Aircraft Systems).  

Surveillance  

EMSA offers two satellite-based Earth Observation services to offer a unique view of the maritime 
landscape: CleanSeaNet and the Copernicus Maritime Surveillance service. 

CleanSeaNet  is  a  European  satellite-based  oil  spill  and  vessel  detection  service  which  offers 
assistance in identifying and tracing oil pollution on the sea surface, monitoring accidental pollution 
during  emergencies  and  contributing  to  the  identification  of  polluters.  Using  satellite-based 
surveillance,  CleanSeaNet  is  able  to  detect  possible  oil  spills  at  sea  and  alert  EU  Member  States 
accordingly.  The  CleanSeaNet  service  is  also  available  to  beneficiary  countries  participating  in 
programmes  of  the  European  Commission,  such  as  IPA  (Pre-Accession  Assistance),  SAFEMED, 
and the ENP-programme for the Black and Caspian Sea. 

The  Copernicus  Maritime  Surveillance  (CMS)  Service  provides  Earth  Observation  products 
(satellite  images  and  value  adding  products)  to  support  a  better  understanding  and  improved 
monitoring of activities at sea, within a wide range of operational functions such as maritime safety 
and  security,  fisheries  control,  customs,  law  enforcement,  marine  environment  pollution 
monitoring,  and  others.  Implemented  by  EMSA,  it  is  a  Security  Service  of  the  EU’s  Copernicus 
Programme. 

EMSA also provides its Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) services free of charge to EU 
Member  States  RPAS  services  have  been  developed  to  assist  maritime  surveillance  operations, 
supporting authorities involved in Coast Guard functions at Member States level, including relevant 
EU bodies such as EFCA and Frontex. 

RPAS can be used as aerial platforms for sensors such as optical cameras in the visible and infrared 
(IR) spectral range for night and day maritime surveillance. They can also be used as IR sensors for 
oil  slick  detection  and  analysis,  radar  for  maritime  surveillance,  and  oil  spill  detection,  and  gas 
sensors  (“sniffers”)  to  measure  the  amount  of  sulphur  oxide  in  a  plume  emitted  by  a  ship. 
Additionally,  all  RPAS  are  equipped  with  AIS  sensors  to  have  a  complete  picture  of  vessel 
movements and distress detecting sensors to be able to react in case of emergencies. 

Digitalisation  

6 

 
EMSA  supports  greater  simplification  through  a  variety  of  digital  services.  Vessel  and  voyage 
related information across the EU is shared among  defined users through the SafeSeaNet  system, 
with  national  administrations  (port  authorities,  coastal  stations,  search  and  rescue,  vessel  traffic 
services, pollution response bodies, etc.) having 24/7 access to the system.  Interaction of national 
systems with SafeSeaNet allows it to function as a European platform for maritime data exchange. 

Maritime  transport  operators  face  a  wide  range  of  legal  reporting  requirements  each  time  a  ship 
arrives at or leaves a port. To reduce this administrative burden, EMSA will support the European 
Commission in the replacement of the Reporting Formalities Directive with the European Maritime 
Single Window environment by developing the relevant datasets and necessary databases.  

In line with  a 2006 amendment  to  the International  Convention for the Safety of  Life at  Sea (the 
SOLAS  Convention)  introduced  by  the  International  Maritime  Organisation,  ships  transiting 
through  international  waters  are  tracked  through  the  Long-Range  Identification  and  Tracking 
(LRIT) system. 

EMSA  operates  the  European  Union  LRIT  Cooperative  Data  Centre  (EU  LRIT  CDC),  through 
which  Member  States,  Iceland,  Norway,  Georgia,  Montenegro,  and  Tunisia  users  can  access  the 
LRIT  information  of  their  ships  worldwide  as  well  as  of  any  non-EU  LRIT  CDC  Participating 
Country vessel bound to EU ports or sailing within 1000 nautical miles of EU waters.  

EMSA  is  also  supporting  the  transition  of  the  EU  maritime  sector  to  a  paperless  environment, 
through its work on e-Certification. 

2.2.  Evaluation and fitness check results 

The  EMSA  mandate  underwent  two  external  evaluations,  respectively  in  2008  and  in  2017.  The 
former provided an overall positive assessment of the Agency, concluding that it had “filled a gap 
in  the  maritime  safety  area  in  the  European  Union”16.  It  presented  a  set  of  11  recommendations, 
which the 2017 evaluation found to  be fully implemented. The latter,  focusing on the 2013-2016 
period,  re-confirmed  the  previous  study’s  overall  positive  assessment  of  the  Agency,  concluding 
that EMSA was a key contributor to “a safer and more secure maritime environment as well as to 
the increased ability of Member States to prevent and to respond to Marine Pollution”17. 

Notwithstanding  these  overall  positive  assessments,  the  2017  evaluation  highlighted  that,  going 
forward, an enhanced mandate would likely become necessary, allowing EMSA to better respond 
to  still  heavy  administrative  burdens  on  the  maritime  industry,  especially  in  relation  to  the  better 
exchange of information and reporting formalities. Overall, the 2017 evaluation concluded that “a 
discontinuation  or  a  reduction  of  EMSA’s  mandate  would  have  significant,  negative  impacts  on 
maritime safety and security in Europe”18.  

16 COWI, Evaluation of the European Maritime Safety Agency, April 2008, p. 60  
17  Ramboll  Management  Consulting,  Evaluation  on  the  Implementation  of  the  Regulation  (EC)  No  1406/2002 
Establishing  EMSA,  May  2017,  p.  156  http://www.emsa.europa.eu/publications/item/3092-emsa-guidance-on-the-
inventory-of-hazardous-materials-3092.html 
18  Ramboll  Management  Consulting,  Evaluation  on  the  Implementation  of  the  Regulation  (EC)  No  1406/2002 
Establishing  EMSA,  May  2017,  p.  155  http://www.emsa.europa.eu/publications/item/3092-emsa-guidance-on-the-
inventory-of-hazardous-materials-3092.html 

7 

 
 
                                                 
A  specific  assessment  of  the  cost  effectiveness  and  cost  efficiency  of  EMSA’s  oil  pollution 
response services was also conducted in 201719. The latter found that EMSA adequately fulfilled its 
mandate  of  providing  oil  pollution  operational  assistance  and  support.  Specifically,  the  Agency’s 
activities in this regard were found to be cost-effective if compared to the economic consequences 
that would result from a lack of capacity on its part to respond to an oil spill and preventing it from 
reaching the shoreline. Notwithstanding this, the assessment provided a set of recommendations for 
some further improvement in the way that the operational response could be improved. 

Finally, the Commission undertook a Fitness Check of the 2009 EU Maritime Transport Strategy 
(2018)20. This review underlined EMSA’s contribution to the cost-effectiveness of EU involvement 
in  the  field  of  maritime  transport,  stemming  from  providing  training,  capacity-building,  technical 
assistance  and  common  databases.  In  particular,  the  report  highlighted  EMSA’s  added  value  in 
terms  of  its  role  in  hosting  and  promoting  the  development  of  EU-level  systems,  such  as 
SafeSeaNet, THETIS and, though to a lesser extent, the EMCIP database for accident investigation. 
Against  this  background,  the  Fitness  Check  recommended  to  continue  building  on  EMSA’s 
capacities,  with  a  focus  on  promoting  and  investing  in  EMSA’s  digital  systems,  applications  and 
databases. 

2.3.  EMSA in a changing world 

Since the last substantial amendment  of the EMSA mandate in  2013, which defined the core and 
ancillary tasks of the Agency, there were major transformations taking place in the maritime sector, 
influenced  from  the  broader  political  considerations  and  priorities.  The  main  development  is  the 
European Green Deal, reflected in the transport and maritime sector through the policy objectives 
and measures announced in the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, and the maritime related 
legislative proposals of the ‘Fit for 55’ package.  

The  maritime  transport  sector  significantly  contributes  to  increasing  the  world’s  environmental 
footprint. Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of total shipping21  (international, domestic and 
fishing)  have  increased  from  977  million  tonnes  in  2012  to  1,076  million  tonnes  in  2018  (i.e.  a 
9.6%  increase).  In  turn,  the  share  of  shipping  GHG  emissions  in  global  anthropogenic  emissions 
has  increased  from  2.76%  in  2012  to  2.89%  in  2018.  In  terms  of  future  outlooks,  emissions  are 
projected to increase from about 90% with respect to 2008 emissions in 2018 to 90-130% of 2008 
emissions by 2050, in a range of plausible long-term economic and energy scenarios22. 

Moreover, in terms of air pollutant emissions (e.g. sulphur and nitrogen oxides, such as SOx and 
NOx), the picture is very similar. For instance, NOx emissions from ships are expected to increase 

19  Ramboll  Management  Consulting,  Study  on  the  Cost  Effectiveness  and  Efficiency  of  EMSA’s  Oil  Pollution 
Response Services, April 2017, https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/default/files/2018-cost-effectiveness-and-efficiency-
of-emsa-oil-pollution-response-services.pdf 
20 Maritime Transport Fitness Check of the legislation on flag State responsibilities, accident investigation, port State 
control, the vessel traffic monitoring and information system and, the reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or 
departing 
2018, 
https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/default/files/3rd-mobility-pack/swd20180228-fitness-check.pdf 
21 Including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), expressed in CO2e 
22 International Maritime Organization (2020), Fourth IMO Greenhouse gas study.  
See: 
https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Environment/Documents/Fourth%20IMO%20GHG%20Study%2
02020%20-%20Full%20report%20and%20annexes.pdf 

of  Member  States,  Commission  Staff  Working  Document,  May 

ports 

from 

8 

 
                                                 
by up to 300% in the period 2012-205023. Furthermore, by 2030 NOx from the shipping sector are 
expected to become higher than NOx from land sources24 and littoral states of the North and Baltic 
Seas  have  currently  concerns  regarding  the  implementation  of  their  NECAs25  and  are  calling  for 
action  from  EMSA  and  the  Commission  in  this  regard.  On  the  other  hand,  SOx  emissions  from 
international  maritime  transport  are  expected  to  decrease  by  40%-80%  by  2050  compared  to 
emissions in 2012. As of 2015, the Emission Control Areas (SECAs) established in the North and 
Baltic  Sea  led  already  to  significant  SOx  emissions  reduction  in  the  region.  Outside  SECAs, 
reduction  is  also  substantial  mainly  because  of  the  entry  into  force  of  the  global  sulphur  cap, 
limiting the sulphur content  of fuels  to  a maximum  of 0.50 % m/m  from 1 January  2020.  In this 
context, there is a need to enhance the enforcement of existing and upcoming sulphur rules, in the 
EU and in the context of regional sea conventions,26 also in view of the development of new ECAs 
in EU waters, as set out in the Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy.  

Emissions are nonetheless not the only environmental challenge within the maritime  sector. Ships 
cause water pollution, associated with ballast water, oil, anti-fouling components, cargo and solid 
waste discharged from vessels during their journeys. Underwater noise further represents a growing 
threat  for  marine  wildlife  and  the  conservation  of  endangered  species  at  global  level.  In  the  EU 
specifically, between 2014 and 2019, underwater noise energy increased from 3,000 Joule to almost 
8,000 Joule. Indeed, under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, threshold values for pollution 
from  continuous  and  impulsive  underwater  noise  were  also  agreed  upon  in  202227.  In  addition, 
work is currently ongoing at the IMO on the review of the 2014 Guidelines on underwater noise. 

Furthermore, marine litter pollution continues to be a persisting issue with the waste coming from 
ships still attributing around 20% of all the marine litter28. In addition, the loss of containers at sea 
also has a significant impact on the environment and maritime safety, through spilling goods into 
the  sea  or  polluting  beaches,  and  poses  a  threat  for  ecology  and  navigation.  On  average,  1,382 
containers  are  reported  to  be  lost  at  sea  annually,  which  corresponds  to  13,820  t  of  CPG  each 
year29. If catastrophic events are excluded, an estimated 612 containers are lost each year.30  

The green and sustainable transition of the maritime sector is taking place in parallel with a push 
for  the  further  digitalisation  of  the  sector  leading  to  the  so-called  twin  transition.  The  need  to 
facilitate  the  exchange  of  available  data  in  an  effective  and  efficient  way  and  reduce  reporting 
obligations,  so  that  considerable  cost  savings  are  materialised,  has  led  to  major  policy 
developments  under  the  Sustainable  and  Smart  Mobility  Strategy  and,  specifically,  the  European 
Common Mobility Data Space activities, as well as Big Data for Transport. 

23  European  Environment  Agency  (EEA)  and  the  European  Maritime  Safety  Agency  (EMSA)  (2021),  European 
Maritime  Transport  Environmental  Report  2021.  P.149,  citing  IMO  (2015)  Third  IMO  greenhouse  gas  study  2014, 
International Maritime Organization, London 
24 IIAS study 2018 
25 Recent study from BE on the issue of Tier III ships performing like Tier II ships in their ECAs 
26 Decision of the Mediterranean States and the EU in the Barcelona Convention framework in 2021 to designate the 
whole Mediterranean as an Emission  Control  Area  for Sulphur Oxides (Med SOx ECA). The  International Maritime 
Organisation adopt the designation in question pursuant to MARPOL Annex VI in December 2022 with a view to take 
effect in 2025.  
27https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/zero-pollution-and-biodiversity-first-ever-eu-wide-limits-underwater-noise-
2022-11-29_en 
28 Supporting study p. 24 
29  Saliba,  M.,  Frantzi,  S.  and  van  Beukering,  P.,  2022.  Shipping  spills  and  plastic  pollution:  A  review  of  maritime 
governance in the North Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 181, p.113939. 
30 European Maritime Safety Report 2022, EMSA 

9 

 
                                                 
Ongoing digital and technological changes constitute another important unfolding challenge within 
the maritime sector. The main challenge is linked with the development of better cybersecurity and 
resilience for the maritime sector against hybrid threats while a major transformation of the sector 
would  be  the  deployment  and  operation  of  Maritime  Autonomous  Surface  Ships  (MASS). 
Furthermore,  digital  and  technological  developments  also  provide  a  wide  range  of  new 
opportunities  in  terms  of  data  collection  and  management  of  integrated  systems.  This  creates 
opportunities  for  the  potential  digitalisation,  automation  and  standardisation  of  several  processes, 
which  will  allow  for  the  facilitation  of  safety,  security,  sustainability  and  efficiency  of  maritime 
operations, including surveillance mechanisms, at EU level.  

The  importance  of  the  above  developments  have  also  been  confirmed  in  the  online  targeted 
stakeholders’ consultation where 88% of the respondents considered them, especially the green and 
digital transition, as crucial or very important when it comes to EMSA’s new mandate31. 

Finally, the COVID-19 crisis and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have also contributed 
to  the  further  transformation  of  the  sector.  In  particular,  the  COVID-19  crisis  resulted  in  major 
difficulties in the crew changes while also led to bigger waiting times in major ports due to traffic 
congestion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  war  in  Ukraine  and  the  EU  response  through  the  adoption  of 
related  sanctions  against  the  Russian  Federation,  among  others,  also  affected  the  maritime  sector 
with EMSA play a crucial role not only in supporting the Commission and the Member States by 
the monitoring  and implementation  of the sanctions  but  also  by  alleviating the  global food crises 
through supporting the UN Joint Coordination Center in monitoring of the UN Black Sea Grain.  

Evolving regulatory framework 

The above policy developments have been reflected in the previous years, since the last amendment 
of  the  EMSA  Regulation  in  2013,  in  a  new  regulatory  framework  adopted  or  under  development 
which had also an impact in the tasks that the Agency is called to deliver upon.  

In  the  area  of  maritime  safety,  one  of  the  main  developments  was  related  with  the  initiation  of 
discussion in 2015, at the IMO level, and the development of the scoping regulatory exercise on the 
deployment  of  maritime  autonomous  and  automated  surface  ships  (MASS)32.  Moreover,  at  EU 
level the framework related to the EU Recognised Organisations (ROs)33 was amended in 2019 in 
order to incorporate necessary changes stemming from the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from 
the  EU  with  the  establishment  of  a  more  integrated  EU  oversight  and  monitoring  programme  in 
order  to  allow  for  a  better  coordination  between  the  assessment  of  the  ROs  conducted  by  the 
Commission and the national oversight activities by the Member States. 

Finally,  the  Commission  has  put  forward  three  new  proposals  with  the  aim  to  improve  the  core 
legislative framework related to the flag34 and port State35 responsibilities of the EU Member States 
and  the  framework  on  maritime  accident  investigation36.  This  maritime  safety  packages  aims  to 
reflect in the EU legal order the IMO requirements under the III Code, the developments on Paris 
MoU  in  relation  to  port  State  control  while  the  proposed  revision  on  the  accident  investigation 

31 Support study p.22 
32 See: https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Autonomous-shipping.aspx  
33 Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on common rules and 
standards for ship inspection and survey organisations, OJ L 131, 28.5.2009, p. 11 
34 Proposal for revision of Directive 2009/21/EC on flag state control 
35 Proposal for revision of Directive 2009/16/EC on port state control 
36 Proposal for revision of Directive 2009/18/EC on maritime accident investigation 

10 

 
                                                 
bodies aims to enhance their capacity to conduct (and report on) accident investigations in a timely, 
expert and independent manner. Finally, overall the package aims to introduce the digitalisation in 
all aspects of flag and port State functions with the promotion of electronic certificates. 

Furthermore,  in  the  area  of  digitalisation,  Regulation  (EU)  2019/123937  on  a  European  Maritime 
Single  Window  environment  (EMSWe),  which  has  already  entered  into  force,  introduced  an 
interoperable system with harmonised interfaces to simplify reporting obligations for ships arriving 
at, staying in, and departing from EU ports. It introduced a simplified digital information system to 
harmonise Member States’ existing national single windows and reduce the need for paperwork. 

In terms of the decarbonisation of shipping, four major new legislative initiatives were introduced 
in  this  period  since  2013  at  EU  level  with  the  aim  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas  emissions  from 
shipping.  Firstly,  in  2015  the  MRV  Regulation  on  the  monitoring,  reporting  and  verification  of 
carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport38 introduced a system to collect reliable data for 
CO2 emissions from maritime transport. More recently, in July 2021, the Commission proposed the 
‘Fit  for  55  package’,  a  set  of  legislative  proposals  aiming  at  delivering  the  EU’s  2030  climate 
objectives, and ensuring that maritime transport contributes to the increased EU climate effort and 
to  the  Paris  Agreement  commitments.  As  part  of  this  legislative  package,  the  FuelEU  Maritime 
proposal39 is set to play a key role in supporting the greening of the maritime sector, through the 
establishment of a common EU regulatory framework to increase the share of renewable and low-
carbon  fuels  in  the  fuel  mix  of  international  maritime  transport.  In  addition,  the  proposal  for  the 
extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to maritime transport40 will cap maritime 
transport  emissions  as  part  of  the  overall  ETS  cap,  resulting  in  a  price  signal  to  incentivise 
improvements  in  energy  efficiency  and  low-carbon  solutions,  and  reduce  the  price  difference 
between alternative fuels and traditional maritime fuels.  Finally, the Proposal for a Regulation on 
the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure41 will set targets for shore-side electricity supply 
in maritime ports and set targets for supply of LNG in maritime ports.  

In parallel, at the  IMO level, there were major policy and legislative developments in the area of 
decarbonising shipping. The IMO’s Initial GHG Strategy has three interlinked ambitions: 

  A  reduction  in  carbon  intensity  of  international  shipping  by  at  least  40  per  cent  by  2030 

compared to 2008. 

  Pursuing efforts to achieve a 70% reduction by 2050, compared to 2008. 

37 Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a European 
Maritime Single Window environment and repealing Directive 2010/65/EU, OJ L 198, 25.7.2019, p. 64 
38  Regulation  (EU)  2015/757  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  29  April  2015  on  the  monitoring, 
reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC, 
OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 55 
39 Proposal for a  Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the use of renewable and low-carbon 
fuels in maritime transport and amending Directive 2009/16/EC, COM/2021/562 final 
40 Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing 
a  system  for  greenhouse  gas  emission  allowance  trading  within  the  Union,  Decision  (EU)  2015/1814  concerning  the 
establishment and operation of a  market  stability reserve  for the Union  greenhouse gas emission  trading  scheme and 
Regulation (EU) 2015/757, COM/2021/551 final 

41  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  deployment  of  alternative  fuels 
infrastructure,  and  repealing  Directive  2014/94/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  COM/2021/559 
final 

11 

 
                                                 
 
  Reduce the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 50 percent 

by 2050. 

To provide a regulatory framework to achieve these targets, existing (and proposed) amendments to 
the MARPOL take a technical and operational approach to reducing GHGs. These include: 

  Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI): New ships must be built and designed to be more 

energy efficient. 

  Ship  Energy  Efficiency  Management  Plan  (SEEMP):  A  practical  tool  for  helping 
shipowners manage their environmental performance and improve operational efficiency. 

  Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI): Set to enter into force in 2023, EEXI applies 
many  of  the  same  design  requirements  as  the  EEDI,  with  some  adaptations  regarding 
limited access to design data. 

  The  Fuel  Oil  Consumption  Data  Collection  System  (DCS):  Mandates  annual  reporting  of 
CO2 emissions and other activity data and ship particulars for all ships above 5,000 GT. 

  Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) is a rating scheme (A-E) developed by the IMO to  measure 
the annual performance of all ships above 5,000 GT in terms of CO2 per DWT and distance 
covered.  

Except for the above, the Initial IMO GHG Strategy is expected to be revised in 2023 together with 
progress on the selection of mid- and long-term measures. 

In  terms  of  the  sustainability  agenda,  since  2013  there  were  three  main  new  legislations  in  the 
policy area. Firstly, Regulation (EC) 2013/1257 on Ship Recycling42  aims to prevent, reduce and 
minimise accidents, injuries and other negative effects on human health and the environment when 
ships  are  recycled  and  the  hazardous  waste  they  contain  is  removed.  Moreover,  the  Directive  on 
sulphur  content43  incorporated  the  main  changes  in international  law on  preventing  air  pollution 
from ships and especially the revised Annex VI to MARPOL convention in relation to the sulphur 
limits  of  marine  fuel.  In  addition,  the  Directive  on  port  reception  facilities44  aims  to  protect  the 
marine  environment  from  the  negative  effects  of  waste  from  ships  using EU  ports,  by  improving 
port reception facilities for waste from ships. 

Except  for  the  above  new  legislations,  there  is  the  proposal  on  the  revision  of  the  Directive  on 
ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe45, which requires further monitoring by the Member 
States of the NOx emissions from ships in the port areas while the new proposal on the revision of 
the ship source pollution Directive46 aims to incorporate all annexes of the MARPOL convention 

42  Regulation  (EU)  No 1257/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20 November  2013  on  ship 
recycling and amending Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 and Directive 2009/16/EC, OJ L 330, 10.12.2013, p. 1 
43 Directive (EU) 2016/802 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 relating to a reduction in the 
sulphur content of certain liquid fuels, OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, p. 58 
44 Directive (EU) 2019/883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on port reception facilities 
for the delivery of waste from ships, amending Directive 2010/65/EU and  repealing Directive 2000/59/EC, OJ L 151, 
7.6.2019, p. 116 
45  Proposal  for  a  Directive  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  ambient  air  quality  and  cleaner  air  for 
Europe (recast), COM/2022/542 final 
46  Proposal  to  revise  Directive  2005/35/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  7 September  2005  on 
ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements, OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 11 

12 

 
                                                 
into the EU law, with the exception of Annex VI from which only the requirements on the residues 
from scrubbers are proposed to be transposed. 

Limited capacity (resources, competences) in Member States to fulfil all their tasks to regulate the 
maritime sector 

A  third  development  affecting  the  current  EMSA  mandate  are  the  constraints  at  the  level  of  the 
Member  States  resources.  Significant  capacity,  both  in  terms  of  available  resources  and 
competences, is  currently  required of national  maritime authorities to  fulfil their legal  obligations 
and  responsibilities  as  port,  flag  and  coastal  states.  The  list  of  tasks  required  of  port,  flag  and 
coastal States will further increase in the foreseeable future, as a consequence of the need for them 
to align with changing legal frameworks and procedures at EU level.  

A  number  of  examples  of  the  additional  resources  that  will  be  required  of  national  maritime 
authorities  can  be  mentioned.  The  Impact  Assessment  report  on  the  European  Single  Window 
environment expects additional costs for Member States to stem from making their national single 
windows  interoperable  with  the  newly  set  up  European  Maritime  Single  Window  environment47.  
Another,  example  relates  to  the  Impact  Assessment  of  the  FuelEU  maritime  proposal,  which 
outlines the costs that will be incurred by different maritime sector actors. In particular, concerning 
public authorities, the Impact Assessment finds that direct costs will amount to approximately EUR 
1.5  million  (over  the  2021-2050  period),  which  will  be  primarily  related  to  the  additional  15 
minutes that will be required by port State control officers during inspections to verify documents 
compliance48,49.  In turn, the  Impact  Assessment  for  the EU ETS  extension  to  the maritime sector 
estimates  the  additional  administrative  costs  borne  by  national  authorities  –  related  to  the 
implementation of the extension of the EU ETS to the maritime sector – to consist of EUR 0.5- 1.5 
million as one-off costs, and of EUR 0.5-6.4 million annually for all Member States50. 

The  impact  assessment  of  Directive  2009/21/EC  on  flag  State  control  acknowledges  the  possible 
increase of administrative requirements  for Member States, especially for those with  small fleets. 
Moreover, the impact assessment of Directive 2009/16/EC on port State control (PSC) proposes to 
extend  the  scope  of  the  Directive  in  order  to  cover  more  international  conventions,  which  would 
increase  the  overall  burden  on  Member  State  authorities.  In  addition,  the  ongoing  revision  of 
Directive 2009/18/EC on maritime accident investigation may result to an increase on the number 
of investigations by the  maritime accident investigation bodies. Finally, the proposed revision for 
the Ship Source pollution Directive will increase the compliance cost for the maritime authorities 
by the inclusion of more Annexes from MARPOL in the scope of the Directive51.  

47 Commission Staff Working Document Impact Assessment Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation 
establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment and repealing directive 2010/65/EU, p. 52 
48  Commission  Staff  Working  Document  Impact  Assessment  Accompanying  the  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council on the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport, p. 63 
49 While these are the main costs expected for public authorities, it is to be noted that these are relatively low compared 
to the costs estimated by the Impact assessment for other maritime sector actors, in particular ship operators, who will 
bear the main cost under the proposal 
50 Commission Staff Working Document Impact Assessment Report Accompanying the document Directive amending 
Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union, Decision 
(EU) 2015/1814 concerning the establishment and operation of a market stability reserve for the Union greenhouse gas 
emission trading scheme and Regulation (EU) 2015/757, p. 103 
51 For the specific impacts of each initiative please check the relevant impact assessments. 

13 

 
                                                 
Notwithstanding  this,  the  proposals  outlined  above  will  also  contribute  to  simplifying  general 
administrative  procedures,  by  allowing  for  more  flexible  mechanisms  and  making  use  of  IT  and 
information  sharing  tools.  In  particular,  the  revisions  of  the  Directives  on  port  and  flag  State 
control, as well as on maritime accident investigation, will likely call for more digitalised processes 
and  increased  information  sharing  between  national  maritime  authorities.  While  providing  long-
term  benefits  of such changes, these will require national  maritime  authorities to  dedicate further 
resources  and  build  competence  to  implement  new  systems  and  meet  new  requirements,  where 
national  capacity  might  already  be  limited.  Notably,  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1239  establishing  a 
European  Maritime  Single  Window  environment  further  increases  the  need  of  Member  States  to 
develop and build competences in digitalising administrative processes in the maritime sector. 

Besides the financial aspect, the green and digital transitions also call for a change in the skillset of 
the staff involved in regulating the maritime sector. The issues that play a role today are completely 
different from those that were most relevant in the past and these will continue to evolve during the 
years to come. This suggests that an increase in capacity at national level will be needed in terms of 
both resources and competences. As a result, it is expected that the demand for EMSA to support 
Member States’ maritime authorities with developing guidance, technical assistance, expertise and 
sharing of information will increase in the future.  

The importance of this development was highlighted also by the replies  of the respondents in the 
targeted survey where 80 out of 120 respondents agreed that the issue of limited capacity amongst 
national authorities will be crucial or very important. Similarly, over 70% of respondents agreed to 
some or a large extent, that the objective of ensuring that EMSA can play a better role in supporting 
national administrations is relevant.  

3.  REVISING EMSA’S MANDATE 

Given  the  situation  outlined  above,  EMSA’s  mandate  needs  to  be  updated  for  the  following 
reasons:  

1)  EMSA’s  current  scope of activities,  whereby it has already undertaken  additional tasks to 
respond  to  emerging  needs  of  the  sector,  is  not  properly  reflected  in  its  mandate,  thus 
creating  legal uncertainty;  

2)  EMSA’s mandate needs to be future-proof, able to accommodate new legislation such as the 

maritime package; 

3)  EMSA needs to have the proper resources to ensure it can continue to assist Member States 

and the Commission; 

4)  The administrative and financial provisions of EMSA’s mandate do not reflect the latest EU 

Regulatory framework. 

EMSA’s current scope of activities, whereby it has already undertaken additional tasks to respond 
to  the  emerging  needs  of  the  sector,  is  not  properly  reflected  in  its  mandate,  thus  creating  legal 
uncertainty 

The  current  EMSA  mandate  provides  for  various  tasks  related  to  the  Agency’s  objectives  which 
could  be  categorised  in  the  areas  of  maritime  safety,  sustainability  and  pollution  response, 
decarbonisation, security, digitalisation and simplification, surveillance and technical support to the 
Member  States  and  the  Commission.  A  detailed  overview  of  the  current  mandate  and  tasks  of 
EMSA is provided in Annex I.  

14 

 
 
The  structure  of  the  current  mandate  has  proven  to  be  both  very  prescriptive  one  but  also  very 
flexible.  In  particular,  although  it  entrusts  very  specific  tasks  to  the  Agency,  it  also  has  also  two 
elements of flexibility: the division of tasks between core and ancillary together with the possibility 
for  the Commission and the Member States to  request the Agency for assistance in relation to any 
piece of Union legislation falling under the objectives of the Agency. 

Ancillary tasks  

The distinction between core and ancillary tasks52, which was inserted as a compromise during the 
inter-institutional  negotiations  in  2013  to  address  the  need  for  the  Agency  to  be  allocated  more 
tasks, appears outdated. The policy priorities of the Commission are not adequately reflected in this 
distinction, especially those relating to the sustainability and decarbonisation of maritime transport. 

In  this  regard,  the  ancillary  task  relating  to  addressing  GHG  emissions  was  activated  in  order  to 
allow the Agency to be fully involved in the efforts under the European Green Deal and the IMO 
discussions. In this regard, the Agency is assisting the Commission and the Member States  in the 
implementation of the EU MRV Regulation since 2015, through the IT system THETIS-MRV, and 
the preparation of relevant submissions and technical work at the Marine Environment Protection 
Committee  (MEPC)  and  relevant  sub-committees  of  the  IMO.  As  a  result,  the  ancillary  task 
described  in  Article  2a  paragraph  2(b)  providing  for  technical  assistance  in  relation  tothe 
decarbonisation of the sector can no longer be considered as ancillary.  

Likewise,  EMSA  is  playing  a  crucial  role  under  the  Commission’s  proposal  foreseeing  the 
extension  of  the  EU  Emission  Trading  System  (EU  ETS)  to  maritime  transport53,  for  which 
EMSA  will  assist  the  Commission  in  its  implementation  in  particular  but  not  exclusively  by 
developing the relevant monitoring IT tools. In turn, the Agency is going to play a crucial role in 
the implementation of the FuelEU Maritime initiative, which proposes a common EU regulatory 
framework to increase the share of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the fuel mix of international 
maritime  transport54,  by  already  developing  relevant  IT  and  monitoring  tools.  Finally,  the 
Commission  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  the  deployment  of  alternative  fuels  infrastructure 
will set targets for shore-side electricity supply in maritime ports and set targets for supply of LNG 
in  maritime  ports.  EMSA  is  already  supporting  in  this  regard  the  Commission  and  the  Member 
States  by  having  developed  guidance  documents  for  LNG  bunkering55,  Shore-Side 
Electricity56,  for  biofuels57  and  ammonia58  while  further  research  in  alternative  fuels  and 
their safety risks are under way. The Agency has also started looking into the issue of alternative 
sources  of  power  for  shipping,  and  two  studies  were  delivered  on  the  potential  of  bio-fuels  and 
ammonia, looking at options that could support the ambitious objectives towards greener shipping. 

the 
Furthermore,  EMSA 
implementation  of  additional  aspects  of  environmental  sustainability  policy  and  legislation, 

the  Commission 

in  assisting 

increasingly 

involved 

is  also 

in 

52 Article 2a of the current EMSA mandate  
53https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:5e601657-3b06-11eb-b27b-
01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF; https://ec.europa.eu/clima/system/files/2016-11/com_2013_479_en.pdf 
54 COM(2020) 789 final 
55 Reference to EMSA Guidance on LNG Bunkering to Port Authorities and Administrations (EMSA, 2018) 
56 Reference to EMSA Guidance on Shore-Side Electricity to Port Authorities and Administrations (EMSA, 2021) 
57 Reference to EMSA Guidance: Update on Potential of Biofuels for Shipping  (EMSA, 2022) 
58 Reference to EMSA Guidance: Potential of Ammonia as Fuel in Shipping (EMSA, 2022) 

15 

 
                                                 
including the Zero Pollution Action Plan59 and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive 
(MSFD)60. The Agency, on the basis of the relevant ancillary task in Article 2a paragraph 2 point 
(a),  is  already  conducting  research  and  supports  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  with  its 
scientific and technical knowledge on the issues of underwater noise and lost containers. 

Finally, in the area of digitalisation and surveillance, EMSA has been delegated the management of 
the maritime surveillance service under the  Copernicus Maritime Security Services program of the 
Commission  and  the  interoperability  project  for  facilitating  the  exchange  of  information,  the 
Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), under the relevant ancillary tasks, envisaged in 
Article 2a paragraph 2 points (c) and (d). 

On  the  other  hand,  other  ancillary  tasks  have  disappeared  from  the  policy  agenda.  For  instance, 
EMSA has never become active in the area of inland waterways (Article 2a paragraph 2 point (f) 
and paragraph 3 point (b)), which are still listed as ancillary tasks in EMSA’s founding Regulation. 

Tasks on the basis of requests by the Commission and the Member States  

The mandate provides that  the Commission and the Member States could  request  the Agency  for 
assistance in relation to any piece of Union legislation falling under the objectives of the Agency. 
On the basis of this possibility, the Agency has undertaken many tasks which are not specifically 
referred to in its current mandate. 

A  full  list  of  these  tasks  with  their  detailed  description  is  provided  in  Annex  II.  In  terms  of 
horizontal activities,  the  Agency  has  developed further the capacity  building  activities offered by 
the development of common core curricula, online part-time courses, eLearning modules, learning 
services  and  enhancement  and  maintenance  of  relevant  tools,  now  under  the  umbrella  of  the  so-
called EMSA Academy which was created in 2020. The capacity building portfolio of the Agency 
has  substantially  grown.  Today,  learning  services  are  designed,  developed  and  delivered  by  the 
Agency  in  a  blended  mode  (in  person  and  online,  both  in  synchronous  and  asynchronous  mode), 
thus increasing the possibility to reach new or greater number of participants. 52 learning services 
were  delivered  in  2022  (common  core  curricula,  part-time  online  courses  and  short  courses), 
compared  to  24  in  2018.  They  were  attended  by  1,045  participants  from  different  competent 
authorities (in charge of Flag State responsibilities, Port State Control, Sulphur and Ship Recycling 
Inspectors,  new  entrants  from  Maritime  Administrations,  Accident  Investigators,  Anti-pollution 
personnel, CSN and SSN operators, RPAS, etc.) compared to a total of 603 in 2018. 

SWD(2021) 

59 
outlook_en.pdf 
60 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32008L0056&from=EN 

final, 

141 

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/pdf/zero-pollution-action-plan/swd-monitoring-

16 

 
                                                 
Figure  1:  Evolution  of  participation  by  Member  States  in  EMSA’s  capacity  building  (source:  EMSA)

Participants from Member States

1341

1045

603

480

627

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

17 

 
 
Maritime safety  

Moreover,  in  the  area  of  safety  the  Agency  has  enhanced  its  offer  on  many  existing  pieces  of 
legislation with the expansion of the relevant tasks already allocated to it but not properly reflected 
in  its  mandate.  In  particular,  the  Agency  has  now  upgraded  its  research  capabilities  with  the 
undertaking  of  many  studies  in  issues  related  to  maritime  safety,  such  as  passenger  ship  stability 
and fire protection, while it issued the first ever European Maritime Safety Report (EMSAFE) with 
the identification of relevant risk trends underpinned by safety risk models and continues to issue 
ad hoc studies and guidance on various safety issues. 

 In  this  regard,  the  Agency  is  also  playing  a  pivotal  leading  role  in  exploring  the  risks  of  the 
deployment  of  Maritime  Autonomous  and  Automated  Surface  Ships  (MASS)  by  assisting  the 
Member States and the Commission with the risk assessment for the deployment of such new types 
of innovative ships.  

Furthermore, the Agency, especially following the revision of the Recognised Organisations (ROs) 
Regulation  in  2019,  has  become  the  facilitator  of  the  exchange  of  information  between  the 
Commission  and  the  Member  States  providing  vital  assistance  to  both  for  the  monitoring  and 
oversight activities of the EU ROs. These tasks in combination with the Agency providing technical 
assistance  and  its  technical  opinion  to  the  Commission  on  the  assessment  of  the  ROs  and  the 
possibility  to  follow  up  any  infringements  with  remedial  actions  are  currently  not  anchored 
properly in the Agency’s mandate. 

Finally, the Agency has developed databases and IT tools for the implementation of the passenger 
ship safety legislation and the marine equipment Directive. While for the former the Agency is also 
assisting the Commission in the assessment of the exemptions and equivalences communicated by 
the Member States, for the latter the Agency is assisting the Commission by acting as the secretariat 
for the relevant coordination group of the notified bodies. 

Sustainability 

In terms of the assistance requested by the Commission in the area of sustainability, outside of the 
context of the activation of the relevant  ancillary tasks described above,  there was a considerable 
increase in these tasks in comparison to the previous period and what was reflected in the EMSA 
mandate in 2013. First of all, the Agency, together with the European Environment Agency (EEA), 
has been tasked by the Commission to issue the European Maritime Transport Environmental 
Report (EMTER) which provides a factual analysis of the environmental pressures exerted by the 
maritime  transport  sector.  It  gives  up-to-date  information  on  the  relevant  EU  and  international 
environmental standards and describes  current  and future actions to  reduce the sector's impact  on 
our environment. 

Moreover,  since  the  introduction  of  EU  legislation  on  the  reduction  in  the  sulphur  content  of 
marine  fuels  in  2012,  EMSA  has  been  contributing  to  the  implementation  of  this  legislation 
through  the  establishment  of  the  Sulphur  module  in  the  THETIS-EU  database,  assisting  Member 
States  in  the  inspections  under  the  Directive61,  while  also  providing  key  operational  assistance 
through  the  monitoring  of  the  sulphur  content  of  ship  emissions  by  remotely  piloted  aircraft 
systems  (RPAS).  In  the  same  vein,  it  also  provides  upon  requests  of  the  Member  States  similar 

61  EMSA 
https://www.emsa.europa.eu/about/items.html?cid=14&id=2407 

guidance  which 

supported 

sulphur 

discussion 

at 

IMO 

on 

sulphur 

enforcement, 

18 

 
                                                 
services for NOx emissions assisting them in the collection of data, especially in port areas, in order 
to  assist  them  with  the  implementation  of  the  Ambient  Air  Quality  Directive62.  Moreover,  the 
Agency  provides  assistance  to  the  Commission  in  the  implementation  of  the  Ship  Recycling 
Regulation with provision of guidance on inspections and on the  Inventory of Hazardous material 
and with the development of the Ship Recycling module in the THETIS EU database. In addition, 
the Agency is assisting the Commission with the implementation of the Port Reception Facilities 
Directive63  by  developing  relevant  databases  and  IT  tools  which  provide  a  system  for  users  to 
register and exchange data on inspections and verifications foreseen by EU legislation that are not 
covered by the Port State Control Directive.  

EMSA  is  also  continuing  to  provide  the  operational  pollution  response  services  to  top-up  the 
capacities  of  EU  coastal  States  in  response  to  marine  pollution  caused  by  ships  or  oil  and  gas 
installations.  EMSA’s  current  operational  response  toolbox  includes  the  network  of  stand-by  oil 
spill  response  vessels,  the  Equipment  Assistance  Service  (EAS)  available  for  Vessels  of 
Opportunity (VOO), the stockpiles of dispersants and the operational tools for incidents involving 
hazardous  and  noxious  substances  (MAR-ICE  service  and  MAR-CIS  database).  However,  on  the 
basis  of  the  developments  described  above,  and  in  particular,  the  deployment  of  new  alternative 
sustainable  fuels  for  shipping,  EMSA  would  have  to  adjust  the  response  mechanisms  and  the 
operational tools to be able to respond to potential pollution from these new fuels. 

Digitalisation 

Given the wealth of data the Agency  has  access  to,  along with  the digital services, networks and 
knowhow  it  has  developed  over  time,  EMSA  is  uniquely  placed  to  further  support  a  safe,  secure 
and sustainable digitalisation of the maritime sector at the EU level by being the EU data hub of the 
maritime domain under the EU mobility data space. In this regard, the Agency is providing crucial 
assistance  to  the  development  of  the  European  Maritime  Single  Window  Environment 
(EMSWe).  The  latter  will  contribute  to  the  simplification  and  harmonisation  of  the  information 
procedures behind the reporting obligations imposed on shipping companies through national, EU 
and  international  law.  Moreover,  the  Agency  is  already  contributing  to  the  digitalisation  of  the 
Member  States  registries,  including  by  issuing  electronic  certificates  through  the  development  of 
relevant  databases  and  innovative  tools.  Overall,  30,000  individual  users  are  today  benefitting 
from these services, which have also increased over time. 

62  Directive  2008/50/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  21 May  2008  on  ambient  air  quality  and 
cleaner air for Europe, OJ L 152, 11.6.2008, p. 1 and also Proposal for a revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directives 
(2022), https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/revision-eu-ambient-air-quality-legislation_en  
63 Directive (EU) 2019/883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on port reception facilities 
for the delivery of waste from ships, amending  Directive 2010/65/EU and repealing Directive 2000/59/EC, OJ L 151, 
7.6.2019, p. 116 

19 

 
 
 
                                                 
Figure 2: Number of digital services offered by EMSA (source: EMSA) 

No. Of Digital services

31

33

24

39

44

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Furthermore, EMSA plays a vital role in the development of cybersecurity and cyber resilience in 
the maritime domain. The number of cybersecurity incidents in the maritime sector has gone 
up  significantly  and  there  is  a  growing  concern  amongst  Member  States,  but  also  expressed  in 
recent EU policy documents64. As the number of cybersecurity incidents and accidents have been 
growing in the maritime sector, the Agency started to have a closer look at this issue.  

Surveillance and crisis management 

In terms of crisis management assistance, EMSA was tasked by the Offshore Safety Directive65 to 
further assist the Member States and the Commission in the preparation and execution of external 
emergency response plans.  

However,  the  main  change  in  terms  of  the  Agency  tasks  in  the  area  of  surveillance  and  crisis 
management was  the COVID-19  crisis  and  Russia’s war of aggression.  Monitoring  the impact  of 
the COVID-19 pandemic, the EMSA Maritime Support  Service (MSS) provided regular reports 
on  the  movements  of  cruise  ships  (as  passenger  demand  collapsed)  and  oil  tankers  (used  as 
additional  storage  as  consumption  declined).  Equally  important,  the  Agency  produced  regularly 
reports  on  the  impact  of  COVID-19  on  maritime  traffic  and  guidelines  for  the  resumption  of 
cruise operations in Europe in the aftermath of the pandemic. The operational support with RPAS 
deployments and satellite earth observation products has helped Member States to further improve 
the surveillance of their waters with a view of performing all kinds of coast guard functions. The 
satellite imagery and vessel positioning information also helped to support EU interests elsewhere 
in  the  world,  ranging  from  monitoring  EU  flagged  vessels  to  giving  technical  assistance  to 
antipiracy operations, thereby helping to better protect the EU merchant fleet on a global scale. 

Just  as  the  maritime  sector  started  to  recover  from  the  pandemic,  the  Russian  Federation’s 
invasion of Ukraine required an immediate response from EMSA. MSS is actively assisting the 
implementation of sanctions with quasi-real-time reporting on the arrival of vessels carrying solid 
fuels  (coal),  crude  oil  and  petroleum  products  exported  by  the  Russian  Federation,  as  well  as  on 
calls  by  vessels  under  the  Russian  flag.  Digital  services  were  developed  to  facilitate  the 
identification  and  monitoring  of  suspicious  vessels  that  could  fall  under  the  sanctions  regime. 
Furthermore, reports on the impact of the war on maritime traffic in the Black Sea are also regularly 
produced. 

64 Council Recommendation of 8 December 2022 on a Union-wide coordinated approach to strengthen the resilience of 
critical infrastructure, ST/15623/2022/INIT, OJ C 20, 20.1.2023, p. 1 
65 Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on safety of offshore oil and 
gas operations and amending Directive 2004/35/EC, OJ L 178, 28.6.2013, p. 66 

20 

 
 
                                                 
Likewise, MSS has also produced daily reporting on the Black Sea Grain Initiative, providing the 
Commission, the Joint Coordination Centre/UN and Ukraine with a regular overview of the 
use of the established transit corridor, the locations of vessels loaded with agricultural products 
and  alerting  on  any  major  deviations  from  expected  routes.  MSS  has  also  leveraged  the  data 
available to EMSA to identify vessels suspected of transporting grain stolen from Ukraine. Moving 
from  the  tactical  to  operational  level,  MSS  is  providing  regular  reporting  on  LNG  tankers  and 
container vessels loitering around the European Union, as well as extensive reporting on the overall 
impact  on  trends  on  vessel  movements  in  the  Black  Sea.  Exploiting  an  evolving  analytical 
capability,  MSS  is  producing  specific  reports  when  requested  on  the  movements  of  banned 
vessels and flag changes for ships falling under the EU sanctions. 

As the above demonstrates, this unique service for responding to maritime accidents and pollution 
is in high demand, with 2022 showing a 61% increase in activations compared to 2021 and having 
almost tripled when compared to 2018 (11 activations in 2018 vs. 29 in 2022). Simultaneously, the 
average length of Contingency Plan Activations, following a maritime accident, is increasing, up to 
12.7 days in 2022. 

Figure 3: Contingency plan activations (source: EMSA)  

All in all, the current EMSA mandate does not reflect properly the wide range of tasks that Agency 
has  been  called  to  act  and  deliver  upon.  This  problem  was  also  identified  by  the  stakeholders 
consulted.  Based  on  the  results  of  the  targeted  stakeholders  consultation,  the  majority  of  the 
respondents agree with the fact that EMSA’s mandate is outdated by the evolution of the Agency’s 
scope of activities and does not provide a clear legal basis reflecting EMSA’s actual role. In turn, 
the  open  public  consultation  results  revealed  that  73%  of  respondents  strongly  (33.3%)  or 
somewhat agreed (40%) with the same statement66. 

66 See p.37 of the supporting study. 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
EMSA’s mandate needs to be future-proof, able to accommodate upcoming legislation such as the 
maritime package 

Whilst the first reason focuses on the tasks currently being carried out by EMSA (while not being 
clearly  included  in  its  mandate),  the  second  reason  for  amending  the  Agency’s  mandate  is  more 
forward-looking  and  considers  new  tasks  that  will  stem  from  upcoming  legislation  –  namely,  the 
new  maritime  package.  In  this  regard,  the  Agency’s  new  actions  in  the  areas  provided  by  the 
proposal  on  the  new  Flag  State  Directive67,  the  proposal  on  the  new  Port  State  Directive68,  the 
proposal  on the new Accident  Investigation Directive69 and the new proposal  on the Ship  Source 
Pollution Directive70, will also need to be reflected properly in the Agency’s.  

 In this context, the below table provides an overview of the main changes for each of the pieces of 
legislation mentioned above, which all set the basis for potential additional tasks for EMSA.  

recently 

Legislation 
adopted/under 
preparation 

Revision  of  Directive 
2009/21/EC  on 
flag 
state control  

Main (expected or proposed) additional tasks for EMSA 

  Provide  information  systems  and  services  (the  Union  Maritime 

Information and Exchange System) for risk assessment. 

  Support in training, sharing of experience and capacity building 

for flag State work/inspectors  

  Support in the modernisation of the currently mostly paper-based 

ship registers (ship records and certificates)  

Revision  of  Directive 
2009/16/EC  on  port 
state control  

  Develop  training  programmes  for  PSCOs  adopting  a  more  pro-
active (rather then as now a more re-active) safety, and pollution 
prevention approach 

  Support the inclusion of fishing vessels within the scope of port 

State control 

Revision  of  Directive 
on 
2009/18/EC 
accident 
maritime 
investigation 

  Provide Member States accident investigation bodies with clarity 

and precision regarding definitions 

  Provide  assistance  and  support  to  Member  States  with  small 

fleets and/or limited coastlines  

  Provide  further  operational  assistance 

to  Member  States, 

including also capacity building  

67 COM (2023)272 
68 COM (2023)271 
69 COM (2023)270 
70 COM (2023)273 

22 

 
 
                                                 
 
recently 

Legislation 
adopted/under 
preparation 

Revision  of  Directive 
2005/35/EC  on  ship-
source pollution  

Main (expected or proposed) additional tasks for EMSA 

 

Include  more  Annexes  from  MARPOL  in  the  scope  of  the 
Directive 

  Build  upon  THETIS  EU,  SSN  and  CSN,  develop  a  specific 
digital  tool  to  collect  data  on  illegal  discharges  from  ships  and 
the  related  prosecution  (to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the 
Ship Source Pollution Directive) 

  Provide more technical and operational assistance to MS in aerial 
surveillance  and 
/illegal  discharge, 
including  pollution  from  hazardous  and  noxious  substances 
(HNS) to MS 

to  pollution 

reaction 

  Provide  an  online  tool  for  the  possibility  to  report  illegal 

discharges 

EMSA needs to have the proper resources to ensure it can continue to assist Member States and the 
Commission  

Over  the  most  recent  years  (2017-2022),  EMSA’s  revenues  and  expenditure  have  evolved 
alongside  the  expansion  of  the  Agency’s  tasks.  EMSA’s  revenues  are  composed  of  the 
Commission’s  subsidy,  the  EFTA  contribution  and  EMSA’s  operational  income,  which  includes 
project-financed actions as well as other revenue. EMSA’s revenues have followed a stable trend 
between  2017  and  2022,  after  their  last  expansion  due  to  the  coast  guard  cooperation  activities 
integrated  in  the  EMSA  mandate  in  2016.  Figure  4  provides  an  overview  of  the  evolution  of 
EMSA’s revenues over the 2017-2022 period71. 

71 The figure is based EMSA’s last amending budgets. 

23 

 
 
                                                 
Figure 4: EMSA's revenues, 2017-2022

€ 120.000.000

€ 100.000.000

€ 80.000.000

€ 60.000.000

€ 40.000.000

€ 20.000.000

€ 0

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Operational Income

Subsidy from the Commission

Source: EMSA Amended Budget 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021,2022 

Mirroring  the  increased  budget,  EMSA’s  expenditures  have  also  followed  a  similarly  stable 
throughout  the  period  considered.  The  main  source  of  increase  during  this  period  was  driven 
primarily  by  EMSA’s  operational  expenditure72  and  by  its  project-financed  actions73.  Figure  5 
below provides an overview of the evolution of EMSA’s expenditure over the 2017-2022 period. 

72 Including information services and databases, information and communication, operational workshops and training, 
studies  in  support  of  the  Agency’s  operations,  mission  expenses,  long  range  identification  and  tracking  data  centre, 
anti-pollution measures, cooperation on coast guard functions. 
73  Including  maritime  information  services,  assistance  to  candidate  and  ENP  countries,  surveillance  service  level 
agreements,  Cleanseanet  services  to  third  parties,  Copernicus,  Equasis,  Thetis  modules,  and  other  miscellaneous 
expenditures. 

24 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Figure 5: EMSA expenditure, 2017-202274 

€ 120.000.000

€ 100.000.000

€ 80.000.000

€ 60.000.000

€ 40.000.000

€ 20.000.000

€ 0

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Project Financed Actions

Operational Expenditure (inclusive of Anti-pollution Measures)

Administrative Expenditure

Staff

Source: EMSA Budget 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 

In  this  regard,  the  EMSA’s  2017  evaluation  highlighted  the  need  to  expand  even  further  the 
Commission’s subsidy to the Agency to allow for the uptake of EMSA’s progressively growing set 
of tasks75. Indeed, even though the Agency has undertaken more tasks in the past years, its budget 
has  remained  stable,  with  the  exception  of  the  increase  dedicated  to  the  coast  guard  cooperation 
functions. 

Furthermore, it must be underscored that the flexibility mechanisms allowed the Commission and 
Member  States  to  entrust  new  tasks  to  EMSA  without  an  assessment  of  the  human  and  financial 
resources implications of doing  so. As  a result, since 2013, the  Agency  has taken over  without a 
proper  analysis of the financial and human implications. Any reinforcement  of the Agency could 
only  take  place  through  project  financed  activities  under  the  activation  of  the  ancillary  tasks 
prescribed in Article 2a of its current mandate. 

Therefore, while preserving the flexibility mechanism to make sure that EMSA’s mandate remains 
future-proof,  the  new  mandate  should  also  introduce  a  safeguard  whereby  an  analysis  of  the 
financial and human implications of each additional task is done prior to entrusting a new task to 
the Agency.  

74 The figure is based EMSA’s last amending budgets.. 
75  Evaluation  on  the  implementation  of  the  Regulation  (EC) no  1406/2002  establishing  EMSA,  final  report,  2017,  p. 
129 

25 

 
 
 
                                                 
Figure 6: EMSA’s budget 2003-2022 (Source: EMSA)

An  analytical  table  with  the  financial  and  human  resources  that  the  Agency  is  going  to  need  in 
order to continue delivering on the existing tasks and the tasks allocated to it through other pieces 
of legislation is provided in Annex II. These resources are necessary for the Agency to be able to 
continue  delivering  at  the  same  level  as  today  on  the  tasks  allocated  to  it.  Most  of  the  resources 
needed  by  the  Agency  have  been  the  subject  of  individual  impact  assessments  for  the  relevant 
pieces  of legislation  while the expanded tasks  in  section 4 were the subject  of an  analysis by the 
support study underpinning the revision of the current EMSA mandate. 

The  administrative  and  financial  provisions  of  EMSA’s  mandate  do  not  reflect  the  latest  EU 
Regulatory framework 

The current  governance  and financial framework of the EMSA mandate  was crafted in  2013  and 
has remained unchanged since then. However, the governance provisions were not aligned with the 
Common Approach adopted by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission76. As a 
result, the governance structure of the Agency is not up to date with the common approach taken on 
issues spanning from the management board and the voting rights the lack of an executive board to 
assist  the  executive  Director  in  the  daily  issues  of  the  Agency,  mainly  of  financial  and 
administrative  nature,  as  well  as  the  new  procedures  and  content  of  the  annual  and  multiannual 
work  programme.  Moreover,  in  2019  the  new  financial  framework77  came  into  force  which  also 
affected the budgetary provisions of the current mandate.  

As a result, the Agency has been forced to operate with two parallel legislative frameworks, which 
are  not  fully  aligned.  This  has  led  the  mandate  to  be  outdated  and  created  problems  with  the 
compliance of the Agency, especially with the new multiannual financial framework (MFF). Thus, 
it is imperative to align the mandate with these new developments.  

76 https://european-union.europa.eu/system/files/2022-06/joint_statement_on_decentralised_agencies_en.pdf 
77 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for 
the  bodies  set  up  under  the  TFEU  and  Euratom  Treaty  and  referred  to  in  Article  70  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom) 
2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJ L 122, p.1 

26 

 
 
                                                 
A  related  issue  is  the  fact  that  the  current  mandate  needs  to  be  updated  also  in  relation  to  the 
possibility of the Agency to provide services against fees. The current mandate provides already for 
the possibility the Agency to provide services against fees but there no proper legal mechanism to 
facilitate that this possibility can be exploited. In particular, there is no decision-making mechanism 
whereby the Commission and the Agency’s governing bodies could decide which kind of potential 
services, falling under the objectives and scope of the Agency’s mandate, should be offered against 
fees, and to which parties, such as possibly third countries and the industry. 

4.  EXPANDED FUTURE TASKS OF THE AGENCY  

This part focuses on the description of tasks that the Agency has to some extend already undertaken 
but which are proposed to be expanded and reflected in the legal mandate of the Agency. A more 
detailed  analysis  of  the  potential  cost  savings  for  the  Member  States  by  the  Agency  undertaking 
these tasks is  provided in  the support study, while a detailed tabled is  provided in  Annex  II. The 
stakeholders  consulted  under  the  targeted  consultation  showed  to  a  great  degree  their  agreement 
with these expanded tasks, supported “to a large extent” or “to some extent” by over 50% of total 
respondents78.  

Assist the Commission and the Member States in crisis management and in the execution of their 
contingency plans 

The Agency demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine its capacity to assist 
the Commission and the Member States in tackling such situations of crisis, by especially providing 
them valuable information assisting in the execution of their contingency plans. 

The  Agency  will  continue  to  provide  multi-disciplinary  technical  and  operational  support  to 
Member States and the Commission in relation to crisis preparedness and response, including: 

•  Preparing guidelines and contingency measures 

•  Acquiring and sharing data 

•  Providing aggregation and analytical capabilities 

•  Providing services needed to support crisis management development and operation 

Notably,  through  the  Maritime  Awareness  Centre,  described  below,  EMSA  will  provide 
intelligence on global and EU maritime operations, by sharing near real-time information to assist 
EU  and  national  level  decision-making  structures  and  contributing  to  the  early  detection  of 
significant changes and aggregated risks. Moreover, via the Maritime awareness centre, EMSA will 
support reaction, response, management and monitoring of occurring or evolving events both on a 
strategic and tactical level, with a near-real time overview. 

24/7 Maritime Awareness Center 

The  Maritime  Awareness  Centre  will  be  the  expanded  version  of  the  Maritime  Support  Services 
(MSS),  which  is  currently  the  focal  point  for  the  activation  of  the  Contingency  Plan  of  EMSA 
supporting Member States and the Commission.  

78 For a detailed analysis of the consultation results please see the supporting study p. 48 onwards 

27 

 
                                                 
EMSA has so far absorbed the growth of the service, described above, by limiting the scope of its 
service, both in depth (providing a minimum support service only) and timeframe (working hours 
only). The activation of the Contingency Plan outside of working hours relies on stand-by officers 
and  on  officers  on  shift.  As  a  result,  and  due  to  the  human  and  financial  resources  constraints 
outlined above, it is limited to relaying requests for satellite imagery and the activation of services 
such as pollution response vessels, rather than providing a complete maritime expertise service. 

To  absorb  the  workload  generated  by  a  continued  growth  of  activations  for  safety,  security  and 
sustainability  related  incidents,  as  well  as,  to  responding  to  extraordinary  situations  such  as 
COVID-19 and Russia’s large scale invasion of Ukraine, support is limited to extended office hours 
only.  In  effect,  this  means  that  a  potential  crisis  situation  or  a  sanctions  violation  will  only  be 
detected a posteriori.  

The  Maritime  Awareness  Centre  will  therefore  provide  the  platform  for  the  Member  States  to 
receive  tailored  support  from  EMSA,  where  a  24/7  service  can  be  efficiently  centralised  and 
available whenever a vessel arrives or departs the EU.  

This measure is a suitable response to the notable growth in Contingency Plan activations, with a 
24/7 availability being fundamental for an efficient response, ensuring that action is taken whenever 
a situation occurs. Likewise, a 24/7 service will enable round-the-clock assistance in extraordinary 
circumstances,  for  example  the  early  detection  and  avoidance  of  safety  risks,  sanctions  violation, 
rather than a posteriori remedial action. 

This service will also enable EMSA, and by extension the Commission, to offer more added-value 
services to Contingency Plan activations and to build more in-depth relationships with operators in 
the Member States. Under this policy measure, an EMSA Analyst can be made available for each 
case,  providing  the  Member  States  and/or  the  Commission  with  expertise  for  exploiting  the  full 
suite  of  information  and  services  available.  For  example,  the  EMSA  Analyst  can  quickly  help  to 
identify  relevant  information  (e.g.  ownership,  inspections,  deficiencies,  other  vessels  potentially 
involved),  services  and  facilitate  contact  to  the  wider  Agency,  as  Member  States  focus  on 
responding to emergency situations.  

Finally,  thanks to  the use of  new technologies, the Maritime Awareness  Centre will  help identify 
new threats more quickly, enabling a pre-emptive reporting in scenarios that can impact efficiency 
in maritime transport or situations that are more prone to accidents.  

The  stakeholders  consulted  supported  the  further  engagement  of  EMSA  in  assisting  the  Member 
States  and  the  Commission  in  crisis  management,  also  through  the  24/7  Maritime  Awareness 
Center, with 70% agreeing to the need for such an assistance. 

Assistance to the Commission and the Member States with the monitoring and oversight of the ROs  

The  current  activity  of  the  Agency  related  to  ROs  consists  of  assistance  to  the  Commission  in 
monitoring the work of ROs with a view to enabling the Commission to assess their performance in 
terms of retaining recognition. This entails the conduct of an annual inspection programme  to RO 
head  offices,  regional  offices  and  ships,  the  drafting  of  pre-assessment  documents  for  the 
Commission  and  extensive  evaluation  follow-up  stemming  from  these  activities.  In  terms  of  its 
assistance to the Commission, EMSA is also expected not only to assess the seriousness and effects 
of RO infringements but also to assist in the determination of the magnitude and terms of payment 
of the fines.  

28 

 
The revision of the RO Regulation in 2019 and the new working arrangements with the European 
Commission  has  also  generated  additional  workload  for  the  Agency.  Regarding  the  European 
Monitoring and Oversight Programme, EMSA’s monitoring activity in support of the European 
Commission’s  oversight  of  ROs  has  already  expanded  to  cover  assistance  to  the  Member  States’ 
RO oversight obligations under the III/RO Codes79. Thus, this task will reflect the current situation 
but also will be expanded due to the need for further assistance to the Member States stemming also 
from the new proposal on the flag State Directive. 

Research  on  the  deployment  of  alternative  fuels,  including  safety  risks  stemming  from  these 
developments and electrification of maritime transport, and assist Member States 

The  support  that  EMSA  provides  in  relation  to  alternative  fuels  is  an  expanded  task  within  the 
context  of  the  core  task  of  prevention  of  pollution  from  ships,  which  has  substantially  increased 
since 2018, both at international and EU level, due to the green agenda for shipping. 

In 2018 there were no tasks related to the safety implications of alternative fuels and the progress in 
electrification.  The  use  of  new  fuels  entails  serious  safety  risks,  as  the  most  performing 
environmentally friendly fuels  could be associated with higher safety risks such as with ammonia 
and hydrogen. Also, the carriage on board of vessels of electrical vehicles and the use of electricity 
for propulsion create safety challenges, which need to be addressed. 

Since  2018,  the  Agency  has  seen  an  exponential  increase  in  requests  for  assistance  by  the 
Commission  and  the  Member  States.  This  has  materialised  in  new  tasks  linked  the 
implementation  and  enforcement  of  the  Sulphur  Directive  (and  since  2020  of  the  global  Sulphur 
cap),  the revision of the PRF Directive and the assistance regarding the EU MRV Regulation.  

This substantial EU legislative acquis has materialised in constantly increasing technical assistance 
by EMSA to the Commission and the EU Member States, for example with provision of data and 
analyses, support in the drafting of the annual reports, production of guidance, support to training, 
organisation of workshops and additional assistance to the Commission upon request. 

The Agency has also ensured the technical secretariat to the ESSF (European Sustainable Shipping 
Forum)  and  its  increased  contribution  in  number  sub-groups  (with  one  dedicated  to  Sustainable 
Alternative Sources of Power, and one on Energy Efficiency) and to the European Ports Forum and 
its Sustainable Ports Subgroup (where EMSA can play an increasingly active role).  

The  current  staff  has  also  been  involved  with  their  expertise  in  the  visits’  cycle  for  the  Sulphur 
Directive and will be needed for the new cycle expected to start in 2024 for PRF Directive.  

Moreover,  new  topics  have  also  emerged,  such  as  underwater  generated  noise,  Marine  Strategy 
Framework  Directive and the  Zero Pollution Action  Plan. On top  of that, the EMTER developed 
and delivered together with the EEA has become a recurrent task for the Agency (next iteration in 
2024).  

The European Green Deal has finally requested the heavy involvement from EMSA at the side of 
the Commission for the shaping of two fundamental pieces of legislation: the extension of the ETS 
to  maritime  transport  and  the  FuelEU  Maritime  proposal.  EMSA  already  contributed  to  the 

79  IMO  Instruments  Implementation  Code (III  Code)  (adopted  by  resolution  A.1070(28)  of  IMO)  and  Code  for 
Recognized Organizations (RO Code) (adopted by resolutions MEPC.237(65) and MSC.349(92) of IMO).  

29 

 
                                                 
development  of the legislative proposals  and  will also  be heavily involved in  the  development  of 
secondary legislation and the necessary IT tools. Assistance in implementation of such legislations 
and  maintenance  of  the  underlying  IT  systems  will  become  structural  permanent  tasks  for  the 
Agency also in the longer term.  

Regarding  IMO,  the  Agency  has  been  called  upon  to  support  the  Commission  in  the  growing 
discussions on agenda items falling under the remit of the MEPC (Marine Environment Protection 
Committee)  and  the  PPR  (Pollution  Prevention and  Response)  Sub-Committee,  as  well  as  all  the 
Inter-sessional  working  groups  and  correspondence  groups  where  the  technical  expertise  of  the 
Agency is considered essential.  

65%  of  the  stakeholders  consulted  agreed  that  this  expanded  task  should be  properly  reflected  in 
EMSA’s mandate. Under this task, EMSA will continue providing support to Member States in the 
study  and  deployment  of  alternative  fuels.  Research  and  assistance  will  entail  multiple  activities, 
such  as  the  conduction  of  further  studies,  the  development  of  guidance,  the  organisation  of 
meetings  with  Member  State  experts.  Research  and  guidance  in  this  area  will  dedicate  particular 
attention  not  only  to  the  sustainability  dimension  but  also  to  the  safety  risks  associated  with 
alternative fuels.  

In particular, studies might be of a more general nature (e.g. those currently being delivered on a 
specific  “fuel”),  or  more  specific,  leading  to  the  delivery  of  guidance,  for  instance  on  the  safe 
bunkering  operation,  or  on  how  to  respond  to  a  spillage  from  a  specific  substance  or  the 
deployment of Onshore Power Supply (OPS). Regarding safety specifically, studies may consist of 
safety  assessments  of  new  types  of  technological  developments  using  risk-based  and  goal-based 
models;  these  would  also  result  in  guidance  documents  for  industry  regarding  their  safe 
implementation. 

Assistance for developing cybersecurity resilience 

This task was also not present during the last amendments of the mandate.  

Building  upon  its  current  involvement  in  establishing  cybersecurity  resilience  in  the  maritime 
domain, the Agency will set up a system to allow  Member States to inform each other about cyber 
incidents  and  accidents  in  the  maritime  domain  and  to  collect  and  disseminate  best  practices 
regarding measures for the maritime sector to better protect them against cybersecurity threats. 

Support the Commission and the Member States in the implementation of the EMSWe 

The  Commission  has  heavily  relied  until  now  on  EMSA  for  the  implementation  of  the  EMSWe 
without this being planned in the initially adopted legislative proposal and the resources allocated 
from  the  EU  budget.  The  Agency’s  contribution  aimed  at  defining  common  standards  for 
exchanging  information  between  declarants  and  the  National  Single  Windows  and  at  developing 
information  services  that  allow  the  interoperability  of  all  National  Single  Windows.  In  particular 
EMSA has delivered the bellow actions: 

•  EMSA  delivered  the  specifications  of  the  common  reference  EMSWe  dataset,  of  the 
functionalities of National Single Windows’ user interfaces, and of common database services. 
For that task, EMSA worked with transport and customs experts from the Commission, Member 
States and the Shipping Industry. 

•  The specifications delivered by EMSA were reflected in  Delegated and  Implementing adopted 

by the College of Commissioners published in February 2023.  

30 

 
•  EMSA contributed on behalf of the Commission to the elaboration of the IMO Compendium on 
Facilitation  and  Electronic  Business  which  defines  a  harmonised  worldwide  standard  for  the 
electronic fulfilment of reporting obligations in Maritime Single Windows. 

The  implementation  of  the  EMSWe  requires  the  following  additional  tasks  to  be  carried  out  by 
EMSA:  

1.  Maintenance of the EMSWe specifications including the EMSWe reference data set and the 
Message Implementation Guide (MIG, which specifies the information message exchanges 
between  declarants  and  the  National  Maritime  Single  Windows).  Changes  of  the  EMSWe 
dataset  are foreseen by the EMSWe Regulation  to  reflect  changes in  reporting obligations 
applied  to  ships  in  EU  ports.  Corresponding  changes  will  be  needed  in  the  MIG.  The 
maintenance  work  will  require  cooperation  with  experts  from  the  Commission  (MOVE, 
TAXUD), from the Member States and from the Shipping Industry.  

2.  Maintenance  of  the  EMSWe  databases  (EMSWe  Ship  Database,  Common  Location 
Database,  Common  Hazmat  Database),  once  they  are  made  available  by  mid-2024.  This 
includes correction of technical issues, and small software upgrades. 

3.  Testing,  validation,  operation  and  monitoring  of  the  EMSWe  IT  components  (Reporting 
Interface  Module  -  RIM,  User  Registry  and  Access  Management  system  –  URAM,  and 
EMSWe databases). The EMSWe databases will be developed by EMSA. RIM and URAM 
are being developed by DIGIT. The activities would entail:   

  Coordination of testing and validation of the EMSWe components with the 

Commission services, 

  Sharing  best  practices  and  provision  of  technical  assistance  to  MS 
(including  training)  during  the  integration  of  the  Member  States  national 
single windows with the EMSWe components, 

  Maintenance and update of operational and technical documents, 

  Technical helpdesk and online support website to facilitate the tasks above, 

  Data quality controls, service monitoring and operation. 

4.  Upgrade of SSN to ensure interoperability with the Maritime National Single Windows (to 
address  reuse  of  data  between  ports  of  call,  as  required  by  the  EMSWe  Regulation). 
Architectural changes are expected to handle the quantity of data, the high frequency of data 
exchanges and high availability of the service, as well as higher level of data protection. The 
architectural and budget impacts were assessed by a study financed by the interoperability 
project and completed in January 2022. 

EMSA as the hub managing big data of the maritime sector under the Mobility Data Space 

EMSA will implement measures to assist Member States’ maritime administrations in their digital 
transformation, building upon the ad hoc assistance it has already provided to individual Member 
States.  

31 

 
 
Moreover, the Agency will play a role in managing big data within the maritime sector. By mining 
relevant  data  from  the different  databases it hosts, EMSA will be able to identify safety, security 
and sustainability trends, thus supporting research and the formulation of recommendations. 

This  task  will  be  implemented  through  the  development  of  data  warehouses  and  data  lakes  with 
clearly defined access rights. Big data management should allow for cross-fertilisation and further 
enrichment of existing datasets. 

5.  CONCLUSIONS 

EMSA is at the heart of the EU’s quality shipping. Its contribution to enhancing maritime safety, 
while  fostering  the  green  and  digital  transition  of  the  EU’s  maritime  sector,  is  undeniable.  It  is 
therefore  crucial  to  ensure  that  the  Agency  has  the  proper  mandate  and  resources  to  continue  to 
support Member States and the Commission in the years to come. 

EMSA has taken over many new tasks since the last major amendment of its mandate in 2013. Yet, 
the wide majority of these are not properly reflected in its mandate. Most of these new tasks result 
from  the  growing  importance  attached  to  the  green  transition  of  the  sector,  including  its 
decarbonisation, where the EU, with the European Green Deal, is the frontrunner both at home and 
at  the  international  level.  Furthermore,  with  the  wide  range  of  databases  and  IT  tools  it  has 
developed  over  time,  the  Agency  is  best  placed  to  support  the  much-needed  digitalisation  of 
maritime services, as well as cybersecurity and surveillance. 

At the same time, EMSA’s mandate needs to be future-proof. It needs to be able to accommodate 
the  new  tasks  that  will  be  entrusted  to  the  Agency  by  upcoming  EU  legislation,  such  as  the 
maritime package which includes new responsibilities for the Agency to support Member States in 
the areas of maritime safety and sustainability.  

As  a  result,  EMSA’s  mandate  needs  to  be  updated  to  reflect  the  bigger  role  that  the  Agency  is 
already playing today – and the one it will play in the future. While detailed, the mandate should 
remain flexible, so as to ensure that EMSA can continue to respond to the needs of Member States 
and  the  Commission  –  to  both  support  the  implementation  of  new  policy  priorities  and  crisis 
response. This flexibility needs to be accompanied by the necessary human and financial resources 
so  that  the  Agency  can  continue  to  deliver  high  quality  output  without  compromising  its  core 
mission.  

Ultimately, this revision of EMSA’s mandate will ensure that the Agency can continue to support 
the  EU’s  maritime  sector  become  more  sustainable,  smart  and  resilient  –  all  while  keeping  its 
leading role at the international level. 

32 

 
 
 
ANNEX I: EMSA’S CURRENT MANDATE AND TASKS

33 

 
 
 
Area of activity 

Tasks based on EMSA’s mandate 

Tasks stemming from secondary legislation 

Maritime  Transport 
and  Surveillance 
- 
information on ships, 
ship 
cargos 
movements 

and 

The Union Maritime Information and Exchange System 

Integrated Maritime Services 
 
  Remotely Piloted Aircraft services 
 

maritime 

services 

and 
Integrated 
SafeSeaNet  (SSN)  European  Maritime  Single 
Window environment, including: 
 

Establishment and maintenance of the EMSWe 
Data Set, and spreadsheets 

  Drafting  sets  of  technical  specifications  for 
EMSWe 
2019/1239 
establishing  a  European  Maritime  Single 
Window environment) 

(Regulation 

(EU) 

EU  Long  Range  Identification  and  Tracking  (LRIT) 
Cooperative  Data  Centre  (CDC)  and  LRIT  International 
Data Exchange (IDE) 
THETIS 
Maritime Support services 

34 

THETHIS Modules based on secondary legislation: 

  THETIS EU   – PRF (Directive (EU) 2019/883 on 
port  reception  facilities  for  the  delivery  of  waste 
from ships) 

  THETIS  EU  –  MARSEC  (Commission  Regulation 
(EC)  No  725/2004  on  enhancing  ship  and  port 
facility  security  and  Commission  Regulation  (EC) 
for 
No  884/2005 
conducting Commission inspections in the field of 
maritime security) 

laying  down  procedures 

  THETIS EU – SRR (EU Ship Recycling Regulation 
(EU) 1257/2013 and EC Notice 2020/C 349/01 on 
the enforcement of obligations under the EU Ship 
Recycling  Regulation  relating  to  the  Inventory  of 
Hazardous  Materials  of  vessels  operating  in 
European waters 

  THETIS EU – RoPAX (Directive (EU) 2017/2110 
on a system of inspections for the safe operation 
of 
ro-ro  passenger  ships  and  high-speed 
passenger craft in regular service) 

  THETIS  MRV  (Regulation  (EU)  2015/757  on  the 
monitoring,  reporting  and  verification  of  carbon 
dioxide emissions from maritime transport) 

  THETIS EU – Sulphur (Directive (EU) 2016/802 
relating  to  a  reduction  in  the  sulphur  content  of 
certain liquid fuels) 

Definition and maintenance of a Message Implementation 
Guide  (MIG)  and  System  Interface  Guidelines  (SIG)  for 

 
 
Area of activity 

Tasks based on EMSA’s mandate 

Tasks stemming from secondary legislation 

the  EMSWe  components  (Regulation  (EU)  2019/1239  on 
EMSWe)  

Visits 
Inspections 
monitor 
implementation 
EU legislation 

and 
to 
the 
of 

Classification societies 
STCW visits to third countries 
Visits to Member States to monitor the implementation of 
union law 
Maritime security 
Horizontal analysis and research 

and 

Member 
Providing 
the 
States 
with 
Commission 
technical 
and 
scientific  assistance 
and 
facilitating 
technical cooperation 
between 
Member 
Maritime 
States’ 
Authorities  and  with 
the Commission 

Pollution 
preparedness, 
detection and 
response 

Port state control & flag state enforcement 
Accident investigation 
Training, cooperation and capacity building 
Marine  equipment,  and  ship  safety  standards  (including 
IMO) 
Enforcement and capacity building tools 
Prevention of pollution by ships 

(Directive 

establishing 

2009/18/EC 

European  Marine  Casualty  Information  Platform 
(EMCIP) 
the 
fundamental  principles  governing  the  investigation  of 
accidents in the maritime transport sector) 
‘Marine  Equipment  Directive 
MED  Database  – 
Database’ (Directive 2014/90/EU on Marine Equipment) 
Assessment  of  exemptions,  equivalencies  and 
additional  safety  measures  (Directive  2009/45/EC  on 
safety  rules  and  standards  for  passenger  ships  and 
Delegation  by  the  Commission  Regular  update  of  the 
Annex I of Directive 2009/45/EC) 

information 

Operational pollution response services 
Pollution surveillance 
Cooperation  and 
to  pollution 
preparedness  and  response  CleanSeaNet  (CSN)/Earth 
Observation  Data  centre  (Directive  2009/123/EC 
amending  Directive  2005/35/EC  on  ship-source  pollution 
and  on  the  introduction  of  penalties  for  infringements) 
Article 2(4)(f) of the Mandate 

relating 

35 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Area of activity 

Tasks based on EMSA’s mandate 

Tasks stemming from secondary legislation 

Horizontal activities 

Communication, missions and events support 
Overhead/horizontal tasks 

36 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX II- COST ESTIMATIONS  

PM category 

Key assumptions 

1. Codification of existing/ongoing tasks 

Main  assumption  is  stability  i.e.  zero  growth  in  task  and  zero  growth  in  resources  compared  to  the  current 
situation. 

2. Expanded tasks 

Resource needs for the EU subsidy are estimated based on future expanded service.  

3. Legislative developments 

4. Project financed activities 

Resources needs for the EU subsidy are estimated based on the accompanying impact assessments of the relevant 
proposals. 

The resources required for these task are already agreed or are to be agreed by the relevant DG of the Commission 
and are currently project financed therefore there is no need for additional resources under the EU subsidy. 

37 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Task 
Category 

Task 

One-off costs 

Recurrent costs (e.g. annual) 

Task 

Task category 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Horizontal 
Measures 

Capacity 
through 
EMSA 

1. 
building 
the 
Academy 
(Quantification  of 
current  state  of 
play  together  with 
the  needs  to  be 
established  under 
the  new  PSC,  AI 
and FS Directives) 

Explanation 

Costs 
EUR 

in 

(Origin  of  the  costs,  whether 
from  e.g. 
they  originate 
purchasing equipment, hiring 
additional  staff,  IT  systems 
etc. 

costs 

Staff 
in 
FTEs80  An  annex 
with 
the 
all 
consolidated  staff 
needs  has  been 
prepared 

Seniority level 

(Level  of 
associated  with 
FTE) 

seniority 
the 

Other 
recurrent 
costs in EUR 

N/A 

€ 1,000,000 

Already 
included  in 
EMSA 
Subsidy 

Cost  for  the  development  of 
Common  Core  Curricula, 
online 
courses, 
part-time 
eLearning  modules,  learning 
services 
the  EMSA 
Academy  and  enhancement 
and  maintenance  of  relevant 
tools. 

of 

staff 

level 

€1,400,000 

Already 
included 
EMSA 
budget 

in 

Current 
(2022) is: 

7.5 AD,  

0.5 AST,  

2 SNE  

Contribution 
by 
subject  matter  experts 
(whenever 
required) 
from 
the  Business 
Units 

Explanation 

(Origin of the costs, whether they originate from (e.g. purchasing equipment, hiring 
additional staff, IT systems etc.) 

Costs are currently budgeted on annual basis for the maintenance and enhancement 
of supporting tools (VRESI, MaKCs), the continuous update of existing courses and 
CCCs, reimbursements for face-to-face learning activities and the maintenance and 
enhancement of the eLab (software, hardware, training of staff) 

Use  of  EMSA  hosted  applications  would  increase  with  systematic  and  reusable 
training  content  modules  available  and  updated  with  enhancements  of  the 
applications. 

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Horizontal 
Measures 

Introduce 

a 
2. 
more 
integrated 
approach for visits 
to  Member  States, 
flag  States, 
as 
the 
including 
of 
verification 
functions 
more 
and more than one 
piece 
of 
legislation  at  any 
one  visit  (Slight 
of 
modification 
existing Article 3)  

The  approach 
in  question  has  been 
considered by EMSA only preliminarily and 
includes  various  alternative  scenarios,  each 
tied to a wide range of varying assumptions 
which  would  each  result  in  different  cost 
quantifications. In general, it appears that no 
scenario would entail significant initial costs, 
except  for  the  effort  required  to  formulate 
the new approach and put in place the related 
arrangements. Assuming the current level of 
staff  as  a  starting  point,  the  possible  output 
in  terms  of  duration  and  scope  of  the  cycle 
into 
may  be  conditioned,  also 
consideration 
the  necessary  contribution 
from the business units. 

taking 

N/A 

Current 
(see SPD) 

staff 

levels 

60,000 

€ 
(mission 
costs,  based 
on  historical 
data.  Inflation 
not included) 

Already 
included 
EMSA’s 
budget 

in 

The  approach  in  question  has  been  considered  by  EMSA  only  preliminarily  and 
includes alternative scenarios; these are in turn tied to a wide range of assumptions 
that  could  each  result  in  different  cost  quantifications.  By  way  of  an  indicative, 
broad  order  of  magnitude,  it appears  that  there  will  be  no  cost  savings.  Instead,  it 
will be necessary to increase capacity by an additional 4 FTEs in total. 

Costs in respect of missions undertaken are based on an average €2500 per mission 
per  officer  with  an  annual  average  of  6  missions  per  officer  should  this  be  the 
assumption under consideration. 

NA 

NA 

N/A 

NA 

New type of expertise is required. 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Horizontal 
Measures 

3. 
Issue 
recommendations 
in 
the  area  of 
safety, 
sustainability, 
digitalisation  and 
(This 
security. 
builds  on  the  idea 
risk-based 
of 
models 
safety 
upon 
relevant 
research  which  is 
already part of the 
mandate 
under 
Art. 2(2)(c).  

39 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Horizontal 
Measures 

4.  Provide 
an 
opinion 
to 
the 
on 
Commission 
the  assessment  of 
ROs  under  Art  4 
of  Reg.  391/2009 
(Current  task  on 
draft  Commission 
assessment.  The 
process  will  be 
formalised.) 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Sustainability 

5.  Provide  digital 
services to support 
the  Commission 
and  the  Member 
States 
the 
implementation  of 
the  PRF  Directive 
2019/883 

in 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

6.  Assist  in  the 
implementation  of 
MRV 
the 
Regulation 
(EU) 
2015/757  

See  Tasks 
33 and 19 

Sustainability 

No  costs  involved  since  this 
is  a  codification  exercise 
establishing  what  is  already 
being done 

N/A 

No extra costs if the task and the workload stay as they are. 

in 

of 

The  one-off 
costs  have 
already  been  incurred  in  the 
the 
previous 
year 
the 
establishment 
THETIS-EU  PRF  Inspection 
Module  and  the  necessary 
to  SafeSeaNet. 
adaptations 
Only 
operational/evolutive 
maintenance  costs  are  to  be 
estimated. 

N/A 

N/A 

40 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Sustainability 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Sustainability 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Sustainability 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

the 
in 

7.  Assist 
Commission 
the 
implementation  of 
Sulphur 
the 
Directive 
(EU) 
2016/802 (As  per 
current 
the 
cooperation 
agreement  with 
ENV)  

8.  Assist 
the 
Commission  and 
the Member States 
the 
in 
implementation  of 
Regulation 
(EU) 
No 1257/2013  on 
ship recycling and 
amending 
Regulation 
(EC) 
No 1013/2006 and 
Directive 
2009/16/EC  

Support 
9. 
Member 
States 
with  surveillance 
of pollution events 
and  monitoring  of 
emissions  to  air, 
including  nitrogen 
oxides,  and  water 
follow 
including 
and 
up 
of 
management 
alerts 

the 
10.  Codify 
RPAS 
services 
assisting  MS,  the 
Commission, 
FRONTEX 
EFCA 
surveillance 

and 
with 

Cost to enhance THETIS EU 
–  sulphur  capabilities  (partly 
covered  by  a  cooperation 
agreement  with  DG  ENV) 
and to assist EU and non-EU 
Med 
the 
implementation  of  the  Med 
SOX ECA 

countries 

in 

Provision  of 
training  and 
capacity  building  to  Member 
States,  and  of  assistance  the 
the 
Commission 
implementation 
the 
Regulation 

of 

in 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

As  defined 
2023. 

in  SPD 

As  defined  in 
SPD 2023. 

As defined in SPD 2023. 

41 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Security 

regarding 
safety, 
sustainability  and 
security  

€ 350K 

the 
11.  Reflect 
role 
the 
of 
Maritime  Support 
Services centre 

Cat.1:  
Codification 
of 
existing/ongoi
ng tasks 

Security 

The  Videowall  renewal  in 
2028 
years 
renewal) 

(every 

6-8 

N/A 

Current staff levels: 

NA 

NA 

3 FTE, CA GFIV 

3 FTE, SNEs 

MSS front office 

2 shifts/7/365 

1 FTE, CA FGIV 

Service manager 

Outsourced nightshifts 

Outsourced EIM 

1 FTE, CA FGIV 

MSS  front  office  back 
up 

MSS daily tasks 

1FTE, AST 

MSS 
coordinator 

assistant 

42 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1 FTE, AD 

MSS Coordinator 

Cat.1:    Codification 
of  existing/ongoing 
tasks 

Taking into account cost estimations with respect to operational staff and the corresponding budget, estimations with respect to overhead staff as well as any operational support staff are included. 

For category 1 – there is 0 increase in staff 

43 

 
 
 
Task 

One-off costs 

Recurrent costs (e.g. annual) 

Explanation 

originate 

(Origin  of  the  costs,  whether 
they 
e.g. 
purchasing  equipment,  hiring 
additional staff, IT systems etc. 

from 

costs 

Staff 
in 
FTEs81  An  annex 
the 
all 
with 
consolidated  staff 
needs  has  been 
prepared 

1  FTE  will  be 
redeployed 
internally 
from 
EMSA from 2028. 

Seniority level 

Explanation 

of 
(Level 
associated with the FTE) 

seniority 

Other recurrent costs in EUR 

(Origin  of  the  costs,  whether  they  originate  from  (e.g. 
purchasing  equipment,  hiring  additional  staff,  IT 
systems etc.) 

This  will  be  an  expanded  service  with  an  annual 
workshop on crisis management 

Task 

Costs in EUR 

Prepare 
12. 
contingency  plans 
and 
the 
assist 
Commission  and 
the Member States 
crisis 
in 
management  

Task 
Category 

Task category 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
tasks 

Horizontal 
Measures 

To  be  seen  in 
conjunction 
with PM 30 

81 The estimated cost includes Annual remuneration costs and administrative costs in title I and title II. It does not include recruitment costs. It does not 
reflect on the issues of size of premises. 

44 

 
 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
tasks 

Sustainability 

the 
13.  Assist 
Commission  and 
the Member States 
in 
of 
support 
preparedness 
measures  for  oil 
gas 
and 
installations  under 
Article  10  of  the 
Offshore 
Safety 
Directive 
(2013/30/EU)  

2: 

14.  Research 
MASS 

in 

Cat. 
Expanded 
tasks 

Safety 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
tasks 

Safety 

EMSA 
15. 
the 
proposes 
to 
the 
Commission 
imposition 
of 
fines 
to  ROs 
under  Art  6  of 
Reg.  391/2009 

€  300,000    for 
the  next  MFF 
(2028-2034) 

Study  in  support  of  the  task + 
meetings and missions in MS 

  2  FTE  will  be 
redeployed 
internally 
from 
EMSA  from  2028.

1  FTE  with  previous 
offshore 
expertise 
in 
and 
exploration 
exploitation 
and 
contingency 
planning 
(next MFF) 

€  100,000  for  the  next  MFF 
(2028-2034) 

Annual workshop with Member States+ missions 

Making  vessels  automated  is  a 
complex  challenge, 
touching 
upon  all  technical  functions  of 
a vessel. At the moment there is 
a  large  number  of  research 
projects  ongoing  (also  in  the 
context  of  Horizon  2020). 
is  currently  no  staff 
There 
following 
these  studies  and 
giving  input,  analysing  results, 
etc.  The  outcome  has  a  direct 
impact  on  the  discussions  in 
IMO on this topic.  

€ 116,448.49 

1 FTE AD 6 from 2028 

250k  per  year  in  this  MFF 
and 500k per year in the next 
MFF for the annual study on 
MASS,  building  upon  the 
(Risk  Based 
tool 
RBAT 
Assessment 
for 
Tool) 
Member  States,  which  only 
covers  the  first  level  of  risk 
assessment. The definition of 
equivalent  safety  standards 
is  a  complex  task  which  is 
still to be undertaken. 

Additional  workload  is  required,  for  which  particular 
expertise is needed. 

consultancy 

framework 
A 
contract  would  be  necessary  to 
enable EMSA to acquire ad hoc 
support in case of an identified 
need for a fine imposition. This 
support would be in the form of 
financial,  legal  and  technical 
expertise, especially in terms of 
assessing 
and 
effects  of  RO  infringements 
under  Art.  4,5  and  6  of  Reg 
788/2014  and  determination  of 
the  magnitude  and  terms  of 

seriousness 

2  FTEs  will  be 
redeployed 
internally 
from 
EMSA  during  this 
MFF. 

to  be  performed 
Task 
together  with  Task  17. 
EMSA  

Up to € 150,000 per year 

the  expected  exceptional  nature  of 

this 
Given 
occurrence (EMSA can identify about 5 cases that could 
have,  until  now,  potentially  resulted  in  fines  since 
2014),  no  recurrent  costs  are  expected  in  this  area, 
except for the cost of any specific contract issued under 
the  framework  being  contemplated  and  the  man-hours 
involved in the work of internal ad hoc task forces. 

45 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
payment of the fines.  

A 
complementary  measure 
would be to establish an ad hoc 
task  force  in  EMSA  to  rope-in 
internal  resources  that  could 
contribute 
required 
output.  This  would  not  entail 
any additional costs. 

the 

to 

 N/A  

N/A 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
tasks  

Safety 

16.  Development 
for 
of  guidance 
safety 
risk 
assessment 
models  to  foresee 
future trends.  

 2  FTEs  will  be 
redeployed 
internally 
from 
EMSA from 2028. 

N/A  

Two POs will be needed to deal with this  new separate 
task which will look into safety risks from future trends 
and issue recommendations/ guidance on this basis. 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Safety 

and 

Introduce  a 

17. 
European 
Monitoring 
Oversight 
programme 
to 
structure  EMSA’s 
activities  for  the 
and 
monitoring 
oversight 
of 
Recognised 
Organisations 
(ROs) 

To  be  read  together  with 
Task 15 

EMSA  is  already  supporting  the  EU  oversight  of  ROs 
on behalf of the EC. This measure aims to expand such 
a  monitoring  activity  to  Member  States’  RO  oversight 
obligations under the III/RO Codes.  

The task still needs to be codified. Moreover, the model 
has  a  number  of  variables  which  still  require  to  be 
discussed  and  determined.  Nonetheless,  it  is  estimated 
that to ensure EMSA covers the scope of Member State 
monitoring functions, the scope of inspections will need 
to expand. Even though the extent of the expanded tasks 
may  vary  from  Member  State  to  Member  State,  the 
scope  would  increase.  2  additional  project  officers 
would be needed for such an expanded approach. 

Cat. 
Expanded 

2: 

18.  Support  in  the 
implementation  of 
the passenger ship 

€ 150k  

Database supporting Article 9 – 
electronic database.  

 € 240K 

PSS  is  a  crucial  core  task  of  the  Agency.  New 
challenges  are  emerging  (e.g.  evacuation  of  ultra  large 
passenger vessels), which entail significant reputational 

46 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tasks 

Safety 

legislation 
safety 
by  assessment  of 
exemptions, 
equivalences  and 
additional 
safety 
measures 

One  off  cost  for  development, 
testing  and  validation  and    IT 
operations, infrastructure. 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sustainability 

19.  Research  and 
assist  Member 
the 
and 
States 
Commission 
in 
the  deployment  of 
fuels, 
alternative 
including 
safety 
stemming 
risks 
from 
these 
developments  

to 

additional 

The 
operational 
budget  for  possible  studies  and 
the  Commission 
support 
would  depend  on  expectations 
on  the  part  of  the  Commission 
and  Member  States  and  would 
be  handled  within  the  multi-
annual  and  annual  planning  of 
activities  and  budget.  EMSA 
studies  would  be  a  reference 
point.  Moreover,  the  Agency 
guidance, 
would 
with 
organise 
Member  States’  experts,  offer 
conduct  feasibility  studies.  In 
this 
consultancy 
services may be needed. Finally 
the  Agency  will  build 
the 
additional 
with 
expertise 
human  resources  to  assist  the 
Commission  and  the  Member 
States  in 
the  relevant  IMO 
discussions. 

meetings 

context, 

develop 

risks in case of accidents or failure. In this respect, the 
engagement  and  deliverables  of  the  Agency  should  be 
of 
the  highest  quality  and  address  all  potential 
challenges. 

Furthermore, COM has expressed the need to establish 
a harmonised database for the recording of exemptions, 
equivalences,  etc,  as  per  Article  9  of  the  2009/45/EC 
Directive. 

Maintenance,  regular  enhancements  and  operations 
costs  for  the  database  are  based  on  the  assumption  of 
integration with DONA. 

This  will  be  an  important  expanded  service  in  a  field 
which  has  received  a  lot  of  attention  for  sustainability 
purposes.  Addressing  the  safety  challenges  will  be  the 
most important enabler for the commercial, sustainable 
use  of  new  alternative  sources  of  power.  Therefore, 
relevant expertise is needed. 

€ 400K for one study 

to  be  multiplied  with  the 
number of expected studies 

To  be  combined  with  Task 
16  and  20  the  total    annual 
cost 
to  be 
€1.050.000 from 2026. 

is  expected 

€ 582,242.45 

5  AD 
additional 
6 
technical  experts  will  be 
needed  for  these  tasks  (2 
in  2025,  2  in  2026  and  1 
next MFF):  

expertise 

3  AD  6  staff  for  EU  and 
International  development 
related to the sustainability 
Additional 
agenda. 
to 
technical 
complement 
already 
knowledge 
available 
within  the  Agency  and  to 
ensure  the  implementation 
of 
tasks 
stemming  from  providing 
assistance to the European 
(different 
Commission 
services)  and  the  Member 
States  

recurring 

the 

new 

For  safety  risks  stemming 
alternative 
from 
sources  of  power  (Tasks 
16  and  Task  19,  2  FTEs 
will be required: 

1  AD6:  Alternative  Fuel 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sustainability 

with 

Provide 

20. 
operational 
measures, 
possible 
adjustment  of  the 
existing 
oil 
recovery  fleet,  for 
the 
possible 
marine  pollution 
caused 
by 
and 
renewable 
low-carbon  fuels, 
including 
chemical pollution  

expert 

1  AD6:  Alternative  Fuel 
and  other 
sources  of 
power (SSE) expert  

500k in 2026 

EMSA  to  conduct  a  feasibility 
study  on  how  to  adjust  the 
response  fleet  in  view  of  the 
alternative fuels.  

N/A 

48 

costs, 

This  policy  measure  will 
result in important additional 
recurrent 
the 
magnitude  of  which  will 
level  of 
depend  on 
ambition.  The  overall  cost 
for  the  next  MFF  (2028-
2034)  is  calculated  to  be 
21.000.000.    (3M  per  year 
from 2028) 

the 

 This task consists of an adjustment of an existing task. 

To date, the hazards related to the release of substances 
considered as potential renewable and low-carbon fuels 
for  shipping  are  not  well  identified.  If  an  accidental 
release  of  these  substances  happened.  it  would  result 
either  in  a  blaze,  or  an  instant  chemical  reaction 
(ammonia),  leaving  no  time  to  address  the  source  of 
pollution. 

Oil  as  a  cargo  will  still  remain  a  largely  used 
commodity for the chemical, plastic and pharmaceutical 
industries. 

At  the  same  time,  the  traffic  of  chemical  substances is 
intensifying,  which  may  require  to  consider  a  new  set 
up for the European Disaster Tier (which is included in 
EMSA’s mandate).  

is  generally 

Compared  to  oil  pollution  response,  the  level  of 
preparedness 
lower  (less  specialised 
equipment  and  trained  personnel  available).  For  this 
reason,  European  response  capacity  will  be  highly 
relevant, provided it is available on site, with minimum 
delay. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
additional 

operational 
The 
budget  for  possible  studies  and 
support  to  DG  ENV  would 
depend  on  expectations  on  the 
part  of  the  Commission  and 
Member  States  and  would  be 
handled within the multi-annual 
and 
of 
annual 
activities and budget. 

planning 

N/A 

€  300K  for  one  study  from 
2026 

that 

is  expected 

It 
two 
studies  will  be  conducted  in 
this MFF with a total cost of 
€ 600k. 

Recurrent  costs  are  related  to  studies,  modelling  and 
other  research  work.  Guidelines  on  these  topics  are 
being  developed,  therefore,  this  is  expected  to  be 
established as a more permanent task as a potential part 
of  the  EMTER,  as  well  as  in  view  of  the  possible 
provision  of  assistance  to  the  Commission  in  the 
development  of  guidelines  and  regulations  at  the  IMO 
level. 

. 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sustainability 

to 

21.  Provide  new 
tasks  on  research 
lost 
related 
containers 
and 
underwater  noise 
and  marine  litter 
from  ships,  under 
the 
Marine 
Strategy 
Framework 
along 
Directive, 
possible 
with 
assistance  to  the 
Commission 
on 
the  development 
of  guidelines  and 
regulations, 
including  at  IMO 
level  and  in  the 
the 
context 
regional 
sea 
conventions 

of 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sustainability 

22.  Research  and 
assist  Member 
the 
and 
States 
Commission 
in 
the  deployment  of 
OPS  

N/A 

 See Task 19  

See task 19 

Recurrent costs may be associated with the provision of 
feasibility studies to individual MS (outsourced through 
the  development  of  guidance 
procurement)  or 
documents, if necessary. It is not considered feasible to 
assist  more  MS  in  the  deployment  of  OPS  solution 
(infrastructure  projects  are  outside 
the  scope  of 
EMSA’s  mandate).  Guidelines  in  this  domain  are 
to  be 
already 
established  as  a  more  permanent  task,  as  well  as  a 
potential part of the EMTER. 

issued,  however, 

is  expected 

this 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks  

Security 

Include 

a 
23. 
to 
reference 
cybersecurity 
in 
EMSA’s  mandate 
issuing 
by 
guidelines 
and 
facilitating 
exchange 
experience 

of 

for 

To  develop  training,  guidelines 
the 
on  cyber  security 
maritime sector and to establish 
a  cyber 
threat  and  cyber 
incident  alerting  service  or 
for 
information 
the 
States 
Member 
Commission,  using  one  of  the 

exchange 
and 

 € 125,504.30  

For  providing  enhanced 
cybersecurity 
maritime 
know-how  and  an  alerting 
service  to  COM  and  the 
MS,  1  FTE  is  required 
(2026): 
AD7: 
expert 

Cybersecurity 

49 

This  will  be  an  important  expanded  service,  in  a  field 
which  has  received  a  lot  of  attention,  due  to  recent 
incidents.  In  this  context,  cybersecurity  has  become 
important  for  the  smooth  and  safe  functioning  of  the 
shipping  industry.  Therefore,  relevant  expertise  is 
needed. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
between MS.   

existing networks. 

€  2,3  M    (1,45 
this  MFF, 
in 
into 
divided 
in  2026 
700K 
in 
and  750K 
2027, and 850K 
in 
next 
the 
MFF) 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Security 

To  be  seen  in 
conjunction 
with Tasks 24 
and 10 

to 

24.  Establish  an 
expanded 
24/7 
Maritime 
Awareness  Centre 
provide 
to 
assistance  when 
requested 
the 
Commission  and 
the  MS, 
by 
sharing 
information 
building  upon  the 
existing  databases 
surveillance 
and 
systems  of 
the 
Agency  

€ 800K 

€ 1.111.482,35 

EMAC front office: 

€ 1.1 M 
from 2027 

per 

year 

€ 200K 

Development 
of  maritime 
intelligence capabilities (AI and 
ML),  and  awareness  centre 
operational model and technical 
solutions. 

€ 1 M 

should 

be 
The 
EMAC 
supported  by 
the  new  data 
collection  and  data  analytical 
tools.  

  € 500K 

In  order  to  share  information 
and reports with MS and COM, 
the  advanced  platform  should 
be  developed  to  avoid  the  ad-
hoc e-mail communication 

Services:  

 Periodical reports 

  Ad-hoc reports 

  Forecasts 

  Alerts 

6 FTE (2025) CA FGIV to 
cover the 24/7/365 service  

2 FTEs (AD6) in this MFF 
(2025)  and  3  additional 
FTEs  in  the  next  MFF 
(2AD5 and 1 AST4) 

50 

Surveillance  services,  additional  Earth  observation 
products,  

Global  scope  (in  areas  of  EU  interest),  considering the 
need of the MS not only as a Coast and Flag state 

€ 600K 

IT enhancements, testing, maintenance and operations 

€ 100K 

IT Cloud consumption 

€ 200K 

Licenses renewal 

The EMAC would correspond to the existing Maritime 
Support  Services  but  with  stronger  capabilities.  Cost 
estimations  are  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  scenario 
under EMSA’s paper  

Earth  observation  costs  based  on  historical  usage  for 
emergencies,  which  covers  a  similar  set  of  use  cases 
and frequency of activation. 

This  service  will  provide  24/7  active  monitoring, 
analysis  and  reporting,  for  different  maritime  related 
events (e.g. tracking containers lost at sea or monitoring 
a safe lane in the Black Sea etc.).  

 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Digitalisation 

Provide 
25. 
support 
the 
to 
Commission  and 
the Member States 
the 
in 
implementation  of 
the 
EMSWe 
(Current  task  but 
quantified  also  on 
permanent basis) 

€1  M  (300K  in 
2025  and  700K 
in 2026) 

for 
Investment 
the  adaptation, 
and  operational 
costs  of  the  IT 
EMSWe 
systems 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks  

Digitalisation 

To  be  seen  in 
conjunction 

26.  Building  upon 
SSN 
the 
and 
Union  Maritime 
Information 
and 
Exchange  system, 
specific 
develop 
to 
digital 
monitor 
and 
exchange  data  on 
MASS  and  hybrid 

tools 

€ 
800K 
(266.667  in  this 
the 
MFF  and 
the 
rest 
period 
2028-
2034) 

in 

For developing a solution to re-
use  data  from  previous  port  of 
the 
call  (implementation  of 
“once-only” 
for 
EMSWe).  

principle 

€ 347,096.77 

The  budget  was  defined  by  the 
assessment 
Impact 
of 
Regulation 
(EU)  2019/1239 
establishing  a  EMSWe).  This 
budget will be assigned to other 
EU  services  (not  to  EMSA)  in 
charge 
technical 
implementation,  maintenance 
and  operation  of 
IT 
systems. 

the 

the 

for 

usage 

(ABM), 

Integration 
of 
and 
Integrated  Maritime  Services  – 
new  Automated  Behaviour 
Monitoring 
further 
development  of  the  Integrated 
Report  Distribution  (IRD)  and 
development  of  new  solutions 
for  the  information  exchange 
and 
on  MASS  operations 

200K 

annually 

 € 
for 
maintenance  of  the  EMSWe 
dataset  and  Data  Model 
(consultancy services). 

100K 

annually 

€ 
for 
operation  and  maintenance 
of 
EMSWe 
four 
databases (including the ship 
sanitation database). 

the 

€ 50K annually to maintain a 
central  solution  for  re-using 
data  from  previous  port  of 
call. 

€  650k  for  the  Reporting 
Interface  Module  (RIM)  and 
the  User  Registry 
and 
management 
Access 
(URAM) 

A  total  of  €1.000.000  per 
year from 2026 

Cost  required  on  an  annual  basis  to  maintain  the 
EMSWe dataset and data model. 

Cost  required  on  an  annual  basis  to  maintain  the  four 
EMSWe databases. 

COM  plans  to  assign  to  EMSA  activities  related  to 
testing,  validation,  operation  and  monitoring  of  the 
EMSWe  IT  components  (RIM,  URAM  and  EMSWe 
databases). 

These activities require:   

Provision  of  technical  assistance  to  MSs  (including 
training)  during  the  integration  of  the  EMSWe  IT 
components.  

Maintain  and  update  operational  and 
documents. 

technical 

Setup  a  technical  helpdesk  and  an  online  support 
website to facilitate the tasks above  

Perform data quality monitoring of the EMSWe. 

€  380K  per  year  as  of  the 
next MFF (2028-2034) 

MASS  data  will  be part  of  the Maritime  Picture  in  the 
Cloud.  It  will  be  operated  from  the  Cloud,  thus  being 
the  Cloud 
associated  with  the  recurrent  cost  of 
consumption – € 80K 

For  evolutive  maintenance  and  operations  of  the 
solution – € 200K 

for 

further 
FTEs 
development 
and 
maintenance of EMSWe:  

(Business 
6 
1  AD 
Validation  and  IT  testing, 
2025) 

1  AD  5  (Data  access 
management, 2026) 

1 AD5 (2027) 

51 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
with PM 30  

traffic  

hybrid traffic.  

100K test, validation 

N/A 

N/A 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Digitalisation 

Provide 
in 

27. 
assistance 
digital 
transformation  of 
maritime 
MS 
authorities/registri
es  

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Digitalisation 

28.  EMSA  as  the 
hub  managing  big 
the 
data 
of 
maritime 
sector 
under the Mobility 
Data Space  

€  1,350,000  for 
total 
the 
infrastructure 
(Capex)  as  of 
the  next  MFF 
(2028-2034) 

the  Datawarehouse 
Cost  of 
(cloud  native 
infrastructure 
with 
and  AI/ML 
ETL 
capabilities)  and  costs  related 
to 
adaption 
software 
(gateways  or  other  solutions) 
for  data  migration  off 
the 
operational systems of EMSA  

the 

Technical  workshops,  missions,  development  of 
feasibility  studies,  technical  architecture  and  design 
documentation  

For the operational phase: 

a  total  of  €2.160.000  for  the 
next MFF 2028-2034 

Data  mining,  data  governance  and  maintenance  are 
continuous  processes  that  need  recurrent  support  and 
investment.  

52 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Task 
Category 

Task 

One-off costs 

Recurrent costs (e.g. annual) 

Explanation 

Seniority level 

Task 

Task category 

in 

Costs 
EUR 

the  costs, 
they  originate 
e.g.  purchasing 
hiring 
IT 

(Origin  of 
whether 
from 
equipment, 
additional 
systems etc. 

staff, 

Staff costs in FTEs82 
An  annex  with  all 
the 
consolidated 
staff  needs  has  been 
prepared 

(Please specify the level of 
seniority  associated  with 
the FTE) 

Other  recurrent  costs  in 
EUR 

Explanation 

(Origin  of  the  costs,  whether  they  originate  from  (e.g.  purchasing 
equipment, hiring additional staff, IT systems etc.) 

3: 

Cat. 
Legislative 
developments 

Include 

29. 
changes 
stemming  from  the  Accident 
Investigation 
Directive 
(Directive 2009/18/EC) 83 

Safety 

 N/A  

N/A 

€ 230.648,28 

For  additional  AI  support 
services to COM and MS: 
enhanced 
including 
support 
operational 
(e.g. 
services 
ROVs): 
2 FTE (2 AD 6 in 2025): 

to  MS 

 € 1.880.000 € 1.880.000 
per year from 2027. 

Prior  to  this,  36,000  in 
2025  and  1,637,000  in 
2026 

Costs for highly specialised support. 

3: 

Cat. 
Legislative 
developments 

Include 

30. 
changes 
stemming from the Flag State 
Directive 2009/21/EC84 

3 M EUR 
(1,5 M in 
this  MFF 
and  1,5 
the 
in 

for 

Required 
the 
complete overhaul of the 
inspection 
database 
supporting the  alignment 
new 
the 
with 

 € 251.008,6  

2 FTEs AD7 (2025) 

€348K  per  year  from 
2026 

Maintenance and operations costs of IT solution. 

Extra staff will be needed to meet the additional requirements.  

83 Final estimations on the staff and cost are subject to the finalisation of the impact assessment  

84 Final estimations on the staff and cost are subject to the finalisation of the impact assessment 

53 

 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Safety 

next 
MFF 

requirements  of  the  PSC 
Directive. 

31. 
stemming 
Directive 2009/16/EC85  

Include 
from 

changes 
the  PSC 

3: 

Cat. 
Legislative 
developments 

Safety 

1.75M– 

€ 
development 

SW 

€  0.75M  – 
validation 

test  and 

€  0.5M  –  operations, 
infra 

 NA  

€650 
for  harmonised 
template  and    EU-wide 
for  ships  e-
platform 
Certificates. 
Standard 
certificate  data  model, 
certificate  consolidation 
and 
of 
extension 
THETIS for inspection;  

€ 251.008,6  

2  FTE  AD7  (2025  and 
2026) 

322K per year  

Extra staff will be needed to meet the additional requirements.  

54 

 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3: 

Cat. 
Legislative 
developments 
Sustainability 

32. 
stemming 
Directive 2005/35/EC86  

Include 
from 

changes 
the  SSP 

€2,9 M ,9 
M  (600K 
in  2026, 
800K 
in 
2027  and 
1,5M 
in 
next 
MFF) 

IT  costs  will  emerge 
with respect to setting up 
the 
alert/detection/reporting/
enforcement platform.  

IT costs that will emerge 
with respect to setting up 
the 
alert/detection/reporting/
enforcement 
platform 
(€2.4  M)  and  costs  for 
developing  the  guidance 
initial 
documents  and 
training 
set-up 
(€500,000). 

€ 1,770,940.48 

12  FTEs  (11  in  this  MFF 
and 1 in the next MFF 

12  FTEs  (11  in  this  MFF 
[6 in  2025 and 5  in  2026] 
and 1 in the next mFFMFF 

2025:  2  AD5,  2  AD7  and 
2 AST3 

2026: 4 AD5 and 1 AD7 

NEXT MFF: 1 AD5 

estimates 
These 
assume 
an 
increase  in  scope 
SSP 
of 
the 
directive 
to 
include MARPOL 
Annexes  III,  IV, 
V and part of VI. 

EO  operational  annual 
costs: 
 -  MARPOL  Annex  III 
activities:  2.4  M  EUR 
 -  MARPOL  Annex  IV 
and  V  activities:  2.6  M 
EUR 
RPAS  operations  annual 
costs: 
 -  MARPOL  Annexes 
III,  IV  and  V:  1,45  M 
EUR 
 A  total  of  €6.450.000 
per year 

55 

 
 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Task 
Category 

Task 
category 

4: 

Cat. 
Project 
Financed 
Activities 

Sustainabilit
y 

Task 

One-off costs 

Recurrent costs (e.g. annual) 

Comments 

Task 

Costs in 
EUR 

Explanation 

(Origin of the costs, 
whether they originate 
from e.g. purchasing 
equipment, hiring 
additional staff, IT 
systems etc. 

Staff costs in 
FTEs87 An annex 
with all the 
consolidated staff 
needs has been 
prepared 

Seniority level 

(Level of seniority 
associated with the FTE) 

Other recurrent costs 
in EUR 

in 

33.  Provide  support  to  the 
MS, the Commission and the 
industry 
the 
implementation  of  the  ETS 
Directive 
to 
maritime transport As per the 
current 
agreement  with 
CLIMA) 

(extension 

€ 
3,185,00
0 

€ 
1,624,00
0 
for 
operation
al 
services 

Upgrade  of  THETIS 
MRV  and  development 
of assisting tools for MS, 
competent 
verifiers, 
authorities. 

to  Member 
the  European 
and 
the 
and 

Support 
States, 
Commission 
stakeholders 
implementation 
monitoring of the ETS 

in 

5  FTEs  for  the  period 
2023-2026 

€ 462,856.20  

Current  under  SLA  – 
Contract Agents 

€ 200k 

5  FTE  (2  business,  2 
technical  and  1  FIA) 
for  the  maintenance 
of  the  system  and 
operations  (business 
and IT dev and op) 

Should  this  be  recognised 
as  a  core 
the 
Agency,  the  FTEs  should 
be converted into TAs 

task  of 

5 additional TAs: 

4 AD 6 
1 AST 4 

56 

Explanation 

(Origin of the 
costs, whether 
they originate 
from (e.g. 
purchasing 
equipment, 
hiring additional 
staff, IT systems 
etc.) 

Recurrent 
costs 
are  related  to  the 
maintenance 
of 
the system as well 
training 
as 
activities 
and 
technical  support 
in  relation  to  the 
implementation of 
the ETS Directive 

Comments on 
assumptions made when 
estimating costs and 
interpreting the measure 

Qualitative 
assessment of the 
future 
developments of 
costs 

The  resources  required  for 
the task  are  already  agreed 
and 
project 
financed. 

currently 

with 

Costs  are  reflected  in  the 
agreement 
DG 
CLIMA.  Please  note  that 
there  is  a  revision  clause 
that  may  imply  additional 
financial 
resources 
(multiple  uncertainties  are 
linked to the implementing 
and delegated acts). 

Future 
developments 
(enhancements) of 
IT  solutions  are 
dependent 
on 
scope  and  extent 
of 
future 
enhancements  of 
features  of 
the 
solutions, 
digital 
stemming 
from 
regulatory 
changes as well as 
needs  of  the  user 
community. Based 
on 
experience, 
these  expenses  in 
average amount to 
7-15% of the total 
the 
value 
of 
application 
per 
year. 

 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4: 

Cat. 
Project 
Financed 
Activities 
Security 

Enhance 
36. 
and 
interconnection 
information 
exchange 
between  civil  and  military 
the 
authorities 
further  development  and 
operability  of  the  maritime 
Information 
Common 
Sharing 
Environment 
(CISE)  

through 

for 
6.000.000 
programmatic  costs  and 
HR costs.  

€ 1,066,222.55 

For  the  operational  phase 
(as of 01/01/24): 

10 FTE:  

1 Project manager (AD7) 
1 Maritime expert (AD7) 
2  Administrative 
(AST2) 

staff 

1 Financial staff (AST2) 
2  Application  Architects 

(AD5) 

1  Technical  Development 

1 

expert (AD5) 
Deployment 
configuration 
manager (AD5) 
1 Security Officer (AD5) 

and 

57 

The  resources  required  for 
the task are to be agreed by 
the  relevant  DG  of  the 
Commission.  CISE 
is 
currently project financed. 

plan, 

Coordination 
(CSG,  workshop, 
training,  events), 
administrative 
(budget,  financial, 
contract 
management), 
communication 
(media  and  on 
support 
paper 
material),  project 
library,  business 
(Information 
Sharing 
implement 
Responsibility 
to 
Share,  maintain 
Cooperation 
Agreement, 
Operational 
Services), 
Technical 
and 
(maintain 
node, 
evolve 
and 
maintain 
adaptor, 
evolve 
and 
maintain 
thematic 
evolve 
establish 
node, 
and 
maintain 
classified/unclassi
network, 
fied 
the 
monitor 
1-2-3 
security, 
support, 
line 
support 
the 
standardization, 
maintain 

and 

 
 
 
  
 
 
the 

test 

evolve 
suite). 

Additional  details 
can  be  found  in 
attached 
the 
annex.  

4: 

37.  Assist  the  Commission 
in the Copernicus Maritime 
Surveillance Service  

Cat. 
Project 
Financed 
Activities  

Security 

 N/A  

N/A 

€ 1,255,381.51 

11 FTE: 
1  Project  Manager 

for 
links  with  R&D 
(AD7) 

1  Project  Manager 

for 

4 

1 

operations (AD7) 
Earth  Observation 
Experts (AD5) 
Financial 
(AST3)  

Officer 

2 IT development (AD6) 
2 IT operations (AD5) 

Current  costs  already 
defined in the agreement, 
HR: 
excluding 
10.5  M  
€ 
2024: 
2025: 
11.0  M  
€ 
2026: € 11.0 M  

2027: € 11.2M  

7 
and 
FTEs 
respective profiles 
already 
are 
defined 
the 
for 
current 
contribution 
(this 
agreement 
being  a  project-
based activity, the 
FTEs are Contract 
Agents  (6  FGIV 
and 1 FGIII). 

rise 

Costs are expected 
to 
steadily 
inflation, 
with 
assuming  that  the 
scope  of  tasks  is 
not enlarged.  

of 

The  resources  required  for 
the task are decided by the 
the 
relevant  DG 
Commission. Copernicus is 
currently  project  financed 
are 
resources 
and 
the 
by 
designated 
structure  of 
governance 
Copernicus 
led  by  DG 
DEFIS.  

All  cost  assumptions  are 
the 
made 
considering 
signed 
Contribution 
Agreement  with  DG-
DEFIS,  covering  activities 
from 2021 to 2027.  

Note:  2  IT  development 
and  2  IT  operations  posts 
are 
posts 
additional 
currently  not  covered  by 
Contribution 
the 

58 

 
 
 
 
 
Agreement  with  DG-
DEFIS.  

59 

 
 
 
ANNEX III-TABLE WITH EXPANDED TASKS FOR EMSA 

Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks  

Sub-
category: 
horizontal 

related 

Tasks 
preparedness 
and 
management 

crisis 

contingency 
Prepare 
the 
plans  and  assist 
Commission 
the 
and 
Member  States  in  crisis 
management 

EMSA will assist the Commission and Member States in 
crisis management. This will take the form of providing 
multi-disciplinary  technical  and  operational  support  to 
Member States and the Commission in relation to crisis 
preparedness and response, including: 

Preparing guidelines and contingency measures 
Acquiring and sharing data 
Providing aggregation and analytical capabilities 
Providing services needed to support crisis management 

structures development and operation 

Notably, through the Maritime Awareness Centre, EMSA 
would  provide  intelligence  on  global  and  EU  maritime 
operations,  by  sharing  near  real-time  information  in 
order  to  assist  EU  and  national  level  decision-making 
structures  and  contributing  to  the  early  detection  of 
significant changes and aggregated risks. Moreover, via 
the  Maritime  awareness  centre,  EMSA  would  provide 
decision  supporting  resources  for  reaction,  response, 
management  and  monitoring  of  occurring  or  evolving 
events  both  on  a  strategic  and  tactical  level,  with  a 
near-real time overview. 

Maritime  transport  accounts  for  more  than  90%  of 
global  trade.  Large  scale  natural  disasters  (pandemics, 
adverse  effects  of  climate  change)  and  man-made 
crises  (wars,  political  instabilities,  migration  as  well  as 
global economic shifts) have an economic impact on the 
maritime 
transport  sector  and  negatively  affect 
maritime safety, security and the environment (all core 
objectives of the Agency).  

As  the  frequency  of  such  events  is  increasing,  having 
impacts at a global level, mechanisms for manging and 
coping with natural and man-made crises are necessary 
to  improve  stakeholders’  resilience  in  maritime  affairs 
and ensure maritime safety. 

Overall,  this  task  builds  and  reflects  on  the  actions 
undertaken  by  EMSA  during  the  COVID-19  and  UA 
crises,  issuing  guidelines  on  cruise  ships  and  regular 
reporting. 

 
 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category: 

sustainability 

Assist 
the  Commission 
and the Member States in 
support  of  preparedness 
measures  for  oil  and  gas 
installations  under  Article 
10 of the Offshore Safety 
Directive (2013/30/EU) 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category: 

safety 

Development  of  guidance 
risk 
safety 
for 
assessment  models 
to 
foresee future trends 

. 

As per the Offshore Safety Directive, EMSA shall: 

Assist  Member  States,  at  their  request,  with  the 
preparation  and  execution  of  external  emergency 
response  plans,  especially  when 
there  are 
transboundary impacts within and beyond offshore 
waters of Member States; 

On  the  basis  of  the  Member  States’  external  and 
internal  emergency  response  plans,  develop  with 
Member  States  and  operators  a  catalogue  of 
emergency equipment and services available. 

The Agency may, if requested: 

Assist  the  Commission 

in  assessing  the  external 
emergency  response  plans  of  Member  States  to 
check whether the plans are in conformity with this 
Directive; 

Review  exercises  that  focus  on  testing  transboundary 

and Union emergency mechanisms. 

EMSA will play a role in developing guidance for Member 
States,  the  Commission  and  the  Industry  in  the  use  of 
safety risk assessment models to foresee future trends. 

61 

there 

the  moment, 

At 
is  no  specific  “offshore 
contingency  plan”  set  up  in  Member  States.  Offshore 
incidents are considered under the national contingency 
plan, which also addresses shipping risks. 

Directive  2013/30/EU  requires  Member  States  to  draw 
their  “external  emergency  response  plan”,  taking  into 
account  the  “internal  contingency  plan”  (the  one 
submitted by the operator and approved by the Member 
State).  The  validity  and  consistency  of  such  national 
contingency plans has to be checked on EU-level. 

Risk Assessment  is  at the basis  of  all safety measures. 
It  represents  a  widely  used  tool  in  the  maritime  world, 
both  for  the  adoption  of  legislative  measures  (e.g.  by 
the  EU  or  IMO)  and  for  the  implementation  of  policy 
measures  by  maritime  sector  actors  (e.g.  Member 
States or the Industry).  

EMSA  has  significant  experience  in  various  safety  risk 
models  (e.g.  Formal  Safety  Assessments,  HAZID 
exercises,  among  others),  which  places  it  in  a  good 
position  to  provide  guidance  on  and  foster  a  cohesive 
approach to the use of such models. 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category: 

safety 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

digitalisation 

to 

Tasks 
support 
in 
automation 
the  maritime 
sector 

Research in MASS 

EMSA  will  continue  to  be  involved  in  conducting 
research  in  the  area  of  MASS.  This  will  facilitate  the 
further  development  of  MASS  concepts  (e.g.  RBAT). 
Moreover, 
in 
operational projects (e.g. on Communications for MASS, 
development of specific tools for MASS, development of 
capacity  building  tools  for  MASS  etc.)  in  cooperation 
with the industry, Member States and Academia.  

further  engagement 

it  will 

foster 

Making  vessels  automated  is  a  complex  challenge 
touching upon all technical functions of a vessel.  

At  present,  a  large  number  of  research  projects  are 
ongoing  (also  in  the  context  of  Horizon  2020),  whose 
outcome has a direct impact on IMO discussions on the 
topic.  However,  there  is  currently  no  staff  following 
these studies and giving input, analysing results, etc. 

results 

research 

findings  and 

EMSA will also (indirectly) contribute to the “translation” 
of 
technical 
requirements  for  the  IMO  MASS  Code,  by  producing 
non-mandatory standards and technical  guidance or  by 
providing 
institutions 
(EU/IMO/ISO)  for  the  adoption  of  relevant  technical 
requirements. 

feedback 

relevant 

into 

the 

to 

Union 

Building  upon  SSN  and 
Maritime 
the 
Information 
and 
Exchange 
system, 
develop  specific  digital 
to  monitor  and 
tools 
exchange  data  on  MASS 
and hybrid traffic 

EMSA will continue its work towards developing specific 
digital tools to monitor and exchange data on MASS and 
hybrid  traffic.  Integration  and  usage  of  Integrated 
Maritime  Services  –  new  Automated  Behaviour 
Monitoring (ABM) and the Integrated Report Distribution 
(IRD) – will be further developed. 

EMSA  was  tasked  by  the  High-Level  Steering  Group 
(consisting  of  the  Commission  and  Member  States)  to 
work  on  MASS,  including  by  defining  actions  to  ensure 
navigation safety in areas where MASS trials take place. 
Once  these  are  defined,  a  monitoring  tool  will  need  to 
be put in place. This will require to amend/modify EMSA 
SSN and the IRD.   

62 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category: 

safety 

EMSA  proposes  to  the 
Commission 
the 
imposition of fines to ROs 
under  Art  6  of  Reg.  
391/2009 

related 

Tasks 
to ROs 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

safety 

Introduce  a  European 
Monitoring  and  Oversight 
programme  to  structure 
EMSA’s  activities  for  the 
monitoring  and  oversight 
of 
Recognised 
Organisations (ROs) 

acquire 

authority 

EMSA  will 
to  make 
the 
recommendations  to  the  Commission  regarding  the 
imposition of fines to ROs, in all instances where this is 
required  under  article  6  of  Regulation  391/2009.  In 
order to implement this task, EMSA should be able to: 

Establish  a  consultancy  framework  contract,  which 
would  provide  ad-hoc  financial,  legal  and  technical 
support  in  case  of  an  identified  need  for  a  fine 
imposition,  in  particular  in  terms  of  assessing  the 
seriousness  and  effects  of  RO  infringements  under 
Articles  4,5  and  6  of  Regulation  788/2014,  and 
determining the magnitude and terms of payment of the 
fines. 

Establish  and  internal  taskforce  to  employ  resources 
within the Agency. 

EMSA  will  formally  assist  the  Commission  in  managing 
the  programme  while  undertaking  part  of  the  Member 
States’  RO  oversight  obligations  under  the  III/RO 
Codes.  In  this  respect,  EMSA  will  be  charged  with  the 
relevant  horizontal  measures,  which  mainly  consist  of 
the  audit  element  of  the  RO  monitoring  functions  that 
Flag  States  are  bound  by.  On  the  other  hand,  Member 
States  will continue to  focus on their  fleet and national 
requirements.  

EMSA  will  also  be  able  to  provide  more  information  to 
MS  regarding  the  outcome  of  the  ‘audit’  activities  it 
undertakes,  and  which  MS  would  otherwise  have  to 
carry  out  themselves  separately.  This  would  cover  the 
oversight of the ROs’ QMSs, among others. 

63 

The  current  provision  establishes  that  EMSA  can 
propose the imposition of a fine if it finds something of 
utmost  safety  risk.  Given  its  experience  and  technical 
insight,  EMSA  could  be  well  positioned  to  assess  the 
seriousness  and  effects  of  ROs’  infringements  beyond 
cases  of  utmost  safety  risk  and  being  able  to 
recommend commensurate fines. 

In  this  respect,  it  is  necessary  that  the  Agency’s 
capabilities  are  supplemented  in  order  to  enable  it  to 
arrive at recommendations on fines to the Commission. 

This  task  will  be  added  to  EMSA’s  current  role  in 
supporting  the  Commission  in  overseeing  the  ROs. 
Firstly,  the  current  work  which  is  already  being  done 
and  which  can  be  used  by  the  MS  will  be  codified  as 
such. This consists of the ‘audit’ part of RO monitoring, 
thus  covering  the  systemic  issues  of  each  RO.  The 
benefit  of  this  is  that  under  the  current  inspection 
regime,  EMSA  is  already  conducting  a  number  of 
monitoring  functions  and  collecting  data  elements  that 
would  also  feature  in  the  Member  States’  role.  To  this 
effect,  EMSA’s  help  in  this  respect  would  facilitate  and 
expedite the work of the MS. 

Moreover,  EMSA  could  cover  within  the  scope  of  its 
work,  specific  MS’  Flag  State  issues  (this  tailoring  to 
individual MS needs  is  what  gave rise to the envisaged 
increase in resources that would be needed). 

 
 
 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

safety 

to 
Tasks 
support 
the 
implementation 
of 
safety 
legislation 

in 

ship 

the 
Support 
the 
implementation  of 
safety 
passenger 
legislation  by  assessment 
exemptions, 
of 
and 
equivalences 
additional 
safety 
measures 

EMSA  will  continue  to  support  the  Commission  in  the 
implementation  of  passenger  ship  safety  legislation,  by 
assessing  exemptions,  equivalences  and  additional 
safety  measures.  Moreover, 
it  will  maintain  a 
harmonised  database  for  the  recording  of  exemptions, 
equivalences,  etc,  as  per  Article  9  of  the  2009/45/EC 
Directive.  

Port  State  Control  is  a  crucial  core  task  of  the  Agency. 
New  challenges  are  emerging  (e.g.  evacuation  of  ultra 
large  passenger  vessels),  which,  among  others,  entail 
huge  reputational  risks  in  case  of  accidents  or  failure. 
Therefore, the Agency’s engagement and deliverables in 
this  context  should  be  of  the  highest  quality  and  cover 
all challenges. 

Furthermore,  the  Commission  has  expressed  the  need 
to establish a harmonised database for the recording of 
exemptions,  equivalences,  etc,  as  per  Article  9  of  the 
2009/45/EC Directive. 

64 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

sustainability 

assist 
Research 
and 
Member  States 
in  the 
deployment  of  renewable 
fuels, 
low-carbon 
and 
risks 
safety 
including 
stemming 
these 
from 
developments 

and 

related 
Tasks 
to  the  use  of 
renewable  and 
low-carbon 
fuels 
marine 
pollution 
caused 
hazardous 
noxious 
substances 

by 

low-carbon 

renewable  and 

EMSA  will  provide  support  to  Member  States  in  the 
deployment  of 
fuels, 
including  wind  propulsion  assistance.  Research  and 
assistance  will  entail  multiple  activities,  such  as  the 
conduction of studies, the development of guidance, the 
organisation  of  meetings  with  Member  State  experts. 
Research  and  guidance  in  this  area  will  dedicate 
particular  attention  to  the  safety  risks  associated  with 
alternative fuels.  

to  sustainability.  Addressing 

The  subject  of  renewable  and  low-carbon  fuels  has 
recently  received  significant  attention,  particularly  in 
the  safety 
relation 
challenges  associated  with  renewable  and  low-carbon 
fuels  will  be  the  most  important  enabler  for  the 
commercial  and  sustainable  use  of  new  alternative 
sources of power.  

In  particular,  studies  might  be  of  more  general  nature 
(e.g.  those  currently  being  delivered  on  a  specific 
“fuel”),  or  more  specific,  leading  to  the  delivery  of 
guidance, for instance on the safe bunkering operation, 
or  on  how  to  respond  to  a  spillage  from  a  specific 
substance.  Regarding  safety  specifically,  studies  may 
consist  of  safety  assessments  of  new  types  of 
technological  developments  using  risk-based  and  goal-
based  models;  these  would  also  result  in  guidance 
documents 
safe 
for 
implementation. 

regarding 

industry 

their 

The  target  groups  for  such  services  will  depend  on  the 
topic and type of deliverable produced; for instance, the 
topic of new fuels concerns maritime administrations as 
well as ports (availability/safety).  

65 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

sustainability 

of 

Provide 
operational 
measures,  with  possible 
the 
adjustment 
existing oil recovery fleet, 
for  the  possible  marine 
by 
pollution 
alternative 
fuels, 
chemical 
including 
pollution  and  pollution  by 
hazardous 
noxious 
substances 

caused 

EMSA  will  implement  operational  measures  allowing  to 
respond  to  the  possible  marine  pollution  caused  by 
alternative  fuels.  As  such,  this  task  will  lead  to  the 
progressive phasing out of current operational measures 
to  respond  to  marine  oil  pollution.  The  use  of  oil  will 
decrease,  making  space  for  tasks  aimed  at  responding 
to marine pollution caused by alternative fuels.  

These  tasks  will  develop  progressively,  alongside  the 
development  of  knowledge  on  the  hazards  associated 
with  the  release  of  alternative  fuels  and  the  necessary 
operations to address them.  

EMSA  will  also  provide  possible  assistance  to  the 
Commission and the Member States on development of 
guidelines and regulation at the IMO level. 

At  present,  the  hazards  related  to  the  release  of 
substances  considered  as  potential  alternative  fuels  for 
shipping are not well identified. However, an accidental 
release  of  these  substances  could  result  either  in  a 
blaze,  or  in  an  instant  chemical  reaction  (ammonia), 
leaving no time to address the source of pollution. 

Oil as a cargo will still remain a largely used commodity 
for the chemical, plastic and pharmaceutical industries. 

At the same time, the traffic of chemical substances is 
intensifying, which may require to consider a new set 
up for the European Disaster Tier (which is included in 
EMSA’s mandate).  

is  generally 

Compared  to  oil  pollution  response,  the  level  of 
preparedness 
lower  (less  specialised 
equipment  and  trained  personnel  available).  For  this 
reason,  European  response  capacity  will  be  highly 
relevant, provided  it  is available  on site, with  minimum 
delay 

66 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

sustainability 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

sustainability 

Tasks 
related 
to  the  conduct 
of  research  on 
specific topics 

In  the  context  of  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 
Directive, the topics of lost containers, underwater noise 
and  marine  litter  from  ships  will  become  permanent 
areas  of  research  for  EMSA,  with  associated  release  of 
guidelines.  

EMSA  will  both  be  developing  further  knowledge  on 
these  topics  internally  and  procuring  external  studies. 
Relevant  findings  in  these  areas  will  be  included  in  the 
EMTER. 

Lost  containers,  underwater  noise  and  marine  litter 
have  emerged  has  new  global  challenges.  This  has 
created  a  demand  for  EMSA  by  MS  to  look  into  such 
matters and provide support with knowledge and tools. 

Provide  new 
tasks  on 
research  related  to  lost 
underwater 
containers, 
noise  and  marine  litter 
from  ships,  under  the 
Strategy 
Marine 
Directive, 
Framework 
possible 
along 
the 
assistance 
the 
Commission 
of 
development 
guidelines 
and 
regulations,  including  at 
IMO 
in  the 
context  of  the  regional 
sea conventions 

level  and 

to 
on 

with 

assist 
and 
Research 
Member  States 
in  the 
deployment  of  Onshore 
Power Supply 

EMSA  will  conduct  research,  feasibility  and  technical 
studies, and, if necessary, develop guidance for Member 
States - in particular for ports and users – regarding the 
deployment of Onshore Power Supply (OPS).  

OPS is seen as the  main  way to reduce GHG emissions 
at  ports  and  decrease  air  pollution  in  populated  areas. 
However,  knowledge  regarding  OPS  is  still  developing 
and is not sufficiently spread in Europe.  

EMSA  has  developed  preliminary  guidance  on  this,  but 
further specific work is needed, particularly on the basis 
of the feedback received from ports. 

67 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

security 

Include  a  reference  to 
cybersecurity  in  EMSA’s 
issuing 
by 
mandate 
guidelines  and  facilitating 
exchange  of  experience 
between MS 

to 
MS 

Tasks 
support 
with 
surveillance 
and 
security alerts 

cyber 

EMSA  will  undertake  a  role  in  the  cybersecurity  field 
within  the  maritime  sector.  This  will  take  the  form  of 
increasing  cybersecurity  know-how  and  exchange  of 
best  practices,  by  organising  discussions, 
issuing 
guidelines, developing trainings. 

In  addition,  EMSA  will  set  up  an  alerting  service  for 
cyber-threats  and  cyber-incidents  for  Member  States 
and the Commission. While the exact format of such an 
alerting  system  is  to  be  further  defined,  it  could 
comprise  measures  for  communication  (e.g.  for  new 
MASS  concepts),  operational  guidance  to  stakeholders, 
sharing  of  knowledge  and  information;  it  could  be 
established by using existing platforms or by developing 
new ones. 

The  area  of  cybersecurity  has  become  increasingly 
relevant over recent years, gaining significant attention 
particularly  as  a  consequence  of  recent  incidents.  As 
such,  it has become of high  importance for the smooth 
and  safe  functioning  of  the  shipping  industry,  which 
motivates  the 
introduction  of  cybersecurity-related 
activities in EMSA’s mandate. 

EMSA  has  a  unique  maritime  know-how  (including  in 
maritime security/cybersecurity), acknowledged by both 
the  Commission  and  ENISA  in  the  pursuit  of  common 
the  area  of  maritime  cybersecurity. 
actions 
solid  expertise  and 
Simultaneously,  EMSA  has 
understanding of the peculiarities of the maritime sector 
industry  and  of  the  specific,  tailor-made  instruments 
used in the maritime sector (e.g. ISPS). 

in 

of 

no 

still 

harmonisation 

While the work of ENISA mainly focuses on ports, there 
cybersecurity 
is 
recommendations/measures  in  relation  to  ships.  In 
certain  occasions,  different  legal  frameworks  may  even 
apply.  Such  a  lack  of  harmonisation  is  a  risk  in  itself, 
while  it  also  undermines  efforts  to  assess  whether  the 
maritime sector complies with all relevant requirements 
and  has  taken  sufficient  measures  in  the  area  of 
cybersecurity. 

68 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category: 

security 

by 

Establish  an  expanded 
24/7  Maritime  Awareness 
provide 
to 
Centre 
when 
assistance 
requested 
the 
Commission  and  the  MS, 
information 
by  sharing 
the 
from 
stemmed 
existing  databases  and 
surveillance  systems  of 
the Agency 

The 24/7 surveillance capabilities of the EMAC will allow 
for  more  robust  services  in  relation  to  newly  emerging 
challenges; for instance, it will allow for the monitoring 
of  critical  maritime  underwater  infrastructure  (cables, 
pipelines).  Moreover,  it  will  allow  for  the  real-time 
monitoring  and  support  of  different  operations  on  a 
global scale  (in different time zones)  where there  is an 
EU interest.  

Additional data sources, advanced analytical capabilities 
and  intelligence  will  be  needed  to  improve  awareness 
and therefore allow for a high-quality service. 

The  Maritime  Awareness  Centre  will  be  enhanced  in 
order  to  provide  stronger  assistance  to  Member  States 
and  the  Commission.  This  is  to  be  achieved  via  the 
development of marine intelligence capabilities, the use 
of new data collection and data analysis tools, as well as 
via  the  implementation  of  surveillance  services  and 
additional  Earth  observation  products.  These  may 
include  a  range  of  SAR  and  optical  products  (both 
images  and  added  value  products)  of  varying 
resolutions  and  from  multiple  constellations,  taking 
advantage  of  existing  framework  contracts  that  the 
Agency  already  has  in  place  with  satellite  owners  and 
ground  station  service  providers.  Such  products  (both 
satellite  licenses  and  services)  will  be  procured  to  the 
Industry. 

The service will provide 24/7 active monitoring, analysis 
and reporting for different maritime related events (e.g. 
tracking containers lost at sea or monitoring a safe lane 
in  the  Black  Sea  etc.).  It  will  be  available  to  different 
Commission  services  (e.g.  MOVE,  MARE),  EU  bodies 
(e.g.  EEAS),  operations  (e.g.  naval  operations)  and 
Member  States.  In  addition  to  the  existing  tools,  new 
AI/ML  tools  will  be  developed  in  the  area  of  advanced 
analytics, predictive behaviour, web scraping, etc. Data 
collection  and  fusion  capabilities  will  be  based  both  on 
open sources and external databases. 

69 

 
 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category: 

digitalisation 

and 

Provide  support  to  the 
Commission 
the 
in  the 
Member  States 
implementation  of 
the 
EMSWe 

EMSA will provide Member States with assistance in the 
implementation of the EMSWe on a permanent basis. In 
particular,  this  will  include  the  maintenance  of  the 
EMSWe databases and data model. Moreover, EMSA will 
be  in  charge  of  activities  related  to  testing,  validation, 
operation and monitoring of the EMSWe IT components 
(RIM, URAM and EMSWe databases). 

This task is based on the EMSWe Regulation and on DG 
MOVE’s  proposal  to  allocate  resources  to  EMSA  to 
implement EMSWe related tasks. 

Tasks 
support 
with 
services 

to 
MS 
digital 

These activities will include:  

Provision  of  technical  assistance  to  MS  (including 
training)  during  the  integration  of  the  EMSWe  IT 
components.  

Maintenance  and  updating  of  operational  and  technical 

documents. 

Setup  of  a  technical  helpdesk  and  an  online  support 

website to facilitate the tasks above  

Stata quality monitoring of the EMSWe. 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category:  

digitalisation 

assistance 

Provide 
in 
digital  transformation  of 
Member  States  maritime 
authorities/registries 

EMSA will implement measures to assist Member States’ 
maritime administrations in their digital transformation; 
these  will 
technical  workshops,  missions, 
feasibility  studies,  technical  architecture  and  design 
documentation. 

include 

EMSA already provides several digital services as a S2S 
interface.  Given  the  increasing  digitalisation  of  the 
maritime  sector,  enhanced  EMSA  support  is  needed  by 
MS  in  the  design  and  implementation  of  national  plans 
for  digitalisation,  in  order  to  allow  for  seamless 
integration  of  their  national  solutions  in  EMSA’s  digital 
services. 

70 

 
 
Category 

Cluster 

Potential task 

Short description 

Reasoning 

2: 

Cat. 
Expanded 
Tasks 

Sub-
category: 

digitalisation 

as 

the 

EMSA 
hub 
managing big  data  of the 
maritime  sector  under 
the Mobility Data Space.  

This  task  aims  at  enhancing  EMSA’s  ability  of  mining 
existing data, while also benefitting from the assistance 
of industry and academia in doing so. 

EMSA  is  already  hosting  and  managing  most  of  the 
datasets  and  the  databases  in  the  maritime  domain. 
Thus,  it  is  better  positioned  than  other  public  entities 
and the private sector to support research in the area of 
the maritime safety, sustainability and security. 

EMSA  will  play  a  role  in  managing  big  data  within  the 
maritime  sector.  By  mining  relevant  data  from  the 
different  databases  it  hosts,  EMSA  will  be  able  to 
identify  safety,  security  and  sustainability  trends,  thus 
supporting 
of 
and 
recommendations. 

formulation 

research 

the 

This task will be implemented through the development 
of data warehouses and data  lakes  with  clearly defined 
access  rights.  The  solutions  will  be  cloud  based,  so 
additional budget for cloud consumption will be needed. 
The data sources will be EMSA hosted.  

EU  academia  and  industry  will  have  access  to  the  data 
to  allow  for  the  development  of  an  ecosystem  of 
innovation  in  the  area  of  maritime  safety,  security  and 
sustainability.  Big  data  management  should  allow  for 
cross-fertilisation  and  further  enrichment  of  existing 
datasets. 

71 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX IV-FACTUAL SUMMARY REPORT ON THE PUBLIC 
CONSULTATION 

Disclaimer: This Annex should be regarded solely as a summary of the contributions made by the 
stakeholders  of  the  public  consultation  on  the  revision  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1406/2002 
establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency. It cannot in any circumstances be regarded as the 
official position of the Commission or its services. Responses to the consultation activities cannot 
be considered as a representative sample of the views of the EU population.  

1.  INTRODUCTION 

This Annex forms the factual report of the public consultation for the Study on Revised Mandate 
for the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The study, running from December 2021 until 
January 2023, has been commissioned by the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport and 
will  be  carried  out  by  a  Consortium  led  by  Ramboll  Management  Consulting  and  a  group  of 
external experts. 

The goal of this report is to provide a short factual overview of the most important results of the 
public consultation which ran from March – June 2021. 

The overview is divided into three chapters, following the different sections that structured the PC, 
including a section on the position papers: 
  General information about the respondents 
  Familiarity with EMSA and the maritime transport sector  
  Problem definition, objectives, tasks and policy options for the future 
  Position papers 

The  total  number  of  replies  received  in  the  consultation  was  15,  whilst  no  duplicates,  or  other 
reasons  to  delete  responses,  were  found.  All  respondents  replied  to  all  multiple-choice  questions, 
with the exception of one, who did not provide answers to the questions aimed at gathering general 
information  about  the  respondents.  However,  it  was  still  possible  to  retrieve  information  on  the 
language chosen by this respondent, country of origin and category of stakeholder it belonged to. 
Part of the PC participants also provided answers to some or all of the open questions. 

2.  WHO CONTRIBUTED? 

This section will focus on the general profiling information of the respondents. 

10 out of 15 contributions were provided in English, while one was in Czech, one in French, two in 
Dutch and one in Spanish. 

All  respondents  were  from  EU  countries.  The  figure  below  provides  more  details  for  the  total 
sample of respondents. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 1: Country of origin of respondents (n=15) 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

Amongst respondents, there were: 

  6 non-governmental organisations 

  4 public authorities 

  3 business associations 

  1 company/business organisation 

  1 EU citizen 

Three of the four public authorities reported their scope of work: two of them are active at regional 
level,  while  one  is  active  at  national  level.  In  addition,  all  three  reported  being  an  “authority”  in 
terms of their governance level (instead of the Parliament or an agency, which were the two other 
options available). 

More  specifically,  respondents  were  asked  to  indicate  the  category  of  the  organisation  they 
responded on behalf of, or are active in. They thus reported representing: 

73 

 
 
 
 
  3 public authorities 

  1 European organisation or agency 

  1 shipowner/ship manager/charterer 

  1 recognised organisation 

  7 “other” categories, including 

o  1 Research-based Community Group 

o  representative associations 

o  2 NGOs  

In case respondents were participating in the PC on behalf of their organisation, they were asked to 
indicate the organisations’ country(s) of operation. Figure 2 provides an overview of the countries 
of operation indicated by respondents. 

Figure 2 Countries of operation (n=15) 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

In turn, Figure 3 shows the organisation size of the respondents.  

74 

 
 
 
Figure 3: Organisation size of respondents (n=15) 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

3.  KEY RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS  

The following section provides an overview of the responses to questions posed in the OPC. This 
includes  questions  focused  on  the  respondent’s  experience  with  EMSA  and  the  maritime  sector 
(section  3.1),  questions  relating  to  on  the  definition  of  the  problems  associated  with  EMSA’s 
mandate (section 3.2), policy objectives to be achieved through the revision of the mandate (section 
3.3), as well as on potential tasks to be attributed to the Agency (section 3.4). 

3.1.  Respondent’s experience with EMSA and the maritime sector 

Following  the  section  on  general  respondents’  information,  the  PC  enquired  about  respondents’ 
experience with EMSA and the transport sector. 

14 out of 15 respondents reported being familiar with the work of EMSA. One NGO declared not 
being  familiar  with  EMSA’s  work.  12  out  of  15  respondents  regularly  conduct  work  related  to 
maritime  transport  activities,  while  3  only  sometimes  do  work  related  to  maritime  transport 
activities.  These  included  two  NGOs  and  one  business  association.  Moreover,  12  out  of  15  had 
interactions with EMSA in the context of their professional capacity, while 3 did not. Those who 
did not included one public authority and two NGOs.  

Finally, all respondents except for one NGO stated they were aware of EMSA’s services. Multiple 
respondents  further  specified  which  EMSA  services  they  were  familiar  with.  The  services 
mentioned  included  the  offering  of  technical  and  operational  assistance  in  the  field  of  safety, 
security,  and  sustainability;  the  collection  of  data  and  maintenance  of  multiple  databases;  the 
provision of support to Member States; training and capacity building activities; the carrying out of 
monitoring activities, such as monitoring of ship emissions and maritime pollution, shipping routes, 

75 

 
 
 
 
vessel  traffic,  drones,  fisheries;  the  running  of  maritime  surveillance  services  and  all  related 
maritime  surveillance  modules  (e.g.  Thetis);  audits  and  inspections;  research  and  analytics; 
publishing of reports; cooperation with EFCA and Frontex. 

3.2. 

 Problem definition 

Respondents  were  invited  to  express  their  level  of  agreement  with  five  identified  problems  in 
relation  to  EMSA’s  mandate.  A  summary  of  the  level  of  agreement  and  related  stakeholder 
categories per problem will be presented below. 

Nine  respondents  strongly  agreed  and  five  somewhat  agreed  with  the  fact  that  EMSA’s  current 
mandate does not properly reflect its growing role in supporting the maritime sector become more 
sustainable.  Those  who  strongly  agreed  included  an  EU  citizen,  two  NGOs,  two  business 
associations  and  two  public  authorities.  Those  who  somewhat  agreed  included  two  public 
authorities,  three  NGOs,  three  business  associations  and  a  company/business  organisation.  Only 
one respondent, representing an NGO, had no opinion on this.  

Figure  4  EMSA’s  current  mandate  does  not  reflect  properly  its  growing  role  in 
supporting the maritime sector become more sustainable 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

In  turn,  six  respondents  strongly  agreed  and  four  somewhat  agreed  with  the  fact  that  EMSA’s 
current  mandate  does  not  properly  reflect  its  growing  role  in  supporting  the  maritime  sector 
embracing the digital transition. Those who strongly agreed included an EU citizen, three business 
associations,  a  public  authority,  and  an  NGO.  Those  who  somewhat  agreed  included  two  NGOs, 
and two public authorities. On the other hand, three respondents had no opinion on this, including a 
company/business organisation, and two NGOs, while one NGO somewhat disagreed. 

76 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure  5  EMSA’s  current  mandate  does  not  reflect  properly  its  growing  role  in 
supporting the maritime sector embracing the digital transition 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

The following problem presented to PC participants stated that EMSA’s mandate is outdated by the 
evolution  of  the  Agency’s  scope  of  activities  and  does  not  provide  a  clear  legal  basis  reflecting 
EMSA’s actual role. 11 out of 15 respondents agreed with this, either strongly (6) or somewhat (5). 
Those  who  strongly  agreed  with  the  problem  included  one  EU  citizen,  one  NGO,  two  public 
authorities,  and  one  business  association.  Those  who  somewhat  agreed 
included  one 
company/business  organisation,  four  NGOs,  and  one  public  authority.  However,  one  NGO 
somewhat disagreed with the statement, while three had no opinion on it, including one NGO, one 
business association and one public authority. 

Figure 6 The mandate is outdated by the evolution of the Agency’s scope of activities 
and does not provide a clear legal basis reflecting EMSA’s actual role 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

Further,  most  respondents  agreed,  either  strongly  (four)  or  somewhat  (six),  with  the  fact  that 
EMSA’s  mandate  is  lagging  behind  on  reflecting  crucial  developments  under  the  EU  and 
international  maritime  legislation  that  are  adherent  to  the  capacity  of  the  EU  Member  States’ 
administrations in their roles as flag, coastal or port States. Those who strongly agreed included an 
EU citizen,  one NGO, two business  associations, and one public authority. Those who somewhat 

77 

 
 
 
 
agreed included three NGOs, one business association, two public authorities. One NGO somewhat 
disagreed, while three had no opinion to share, including one company/business  organisation, one 
Ngo and one public authority. 

Figure 7 EMSA’s mandate is lagging behind on reflecting crucial developments under 
the EU and international maritime legislation that are adherent to the capacity of the 
EU Member States’ administrations in their roles as flag, coastal or port States 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

Four respondents strongly agreed and five somewhat agreed with the fact that EMSA’s mandate is 
misaligned with new security challenges, alongside competitiveness pressures in ensuring a level-
playing  field  for  the  sector  as  well  as  for  EU  interests  more  widely.  Those  who  strongly  agreed 
included  two  public  authorities,  one  NGO,  and  one  business  association.  Those  who  somewhat 
agreed  included  one  EU  citizen,  two  NGOs,  two  public  authorities.  On  the  other  hand,  three 
respondents  somewhat  disagreed  with  this  problem,  including  two  NGOs  and  one  business 
association.  Four  respondents  (an  NGO,  a  company/business  organisation  and  one  business 
association) had no opinion on the matter. 

Figure  8  EMSA’s  mandate  is  misaligned  with  new  security  challenges,  alongside 
competitiveness  pressures  in  ensuring a  level-playing  field  for the  sector as well  as 
for EU interests more widely 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

78 

 
 
 
 
Finally, respondents were asked whether they saw any other problem in relation to EMSA’s current 
mandate. 14 out of 15 respondents answered to this question. Eight respondents did not identify any 
other  problem.  These  were  an  EU  citizen,  three  NGOs,  two  business  associations,  two  public 
authorities.  Three  respondents  (two  NGOS  and  one  public  authority)  did  not  know  whether  the 
EMSA’s  mandate  had  any  additional  problem.  Finally,  three  respondents  believed  there  are 
additional  problems  with  EMSA’s  mandate;  these  were  one  company/business  organisation,  one 
NGO and one business association.  

When further specifying their reasons,  the NGO  mentioned that shipping  is  generally too  loosely 
regulated, while significant differences exist in regulation across Europe, and many ports/member 
states implement monitoring that is weaker than it could/should be. The business association stated 
that  EMSA's  mandate  does  not  currently  reflect  that  it  has  become  increasingly  difficult  for 
independent  spare  parts  supplier/producers  to  obtain  Type  Approval  from  ROs,  in  relation  to  the 
Mutual Recognition Scheme and Type Approval (TA) certificates for marine engine equipment and 
spare parts. 

3.3.  Policy Objective  

Stakeholders  were  questioned  on  which  policy  objectives,  in  relation  to  the  revision  of  EMSA’s 
mandate, they considered relevant.  

11 respondents strongly agreed with better defining the role of EMSA in the area of sustainability, 
ensuring the Agency can support the sector in this transition, as a relevant policy objective. These 
were  one  EU  citizen,  five  NGOs,  three  business  associations,  and  two  public  authorities.  Three 
respondents  somewhat  agreed  with  this  policy  objective.  These  were  one  company/business 
organisation, one NGO and one public authority. Finally, one public authority somewhat disagreed. 

Figure  9  Better  define  the  role  of  EMSA  in  the  area  of  sustainability,  ensuring  the 
Agency can support the sector in this transition 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

79 

 
 
 
 
Better defining the role of EMSA in the area of sustainability, ensuring the Agency can support the 
sector  in  this  transition,  was  considered  as  a  relevant  policy  objective  by  13  respondents.  Out  of 
these, nine strongly agreed, including one EU citizen, three NGOs, three business associations, and 
two public authorities. Four respondents somewhat agreed with this policy objective, including two 
NGOs,  one  company/business  organisation  and  one  public  authority.  One  public  authority 
somewhat disagreed. Finally, one NGO had no opinion on this. 

Figure  10  Better  define  the  role  of  EMSA  in  the  area  of  digitalisation  ensuring  the 
Agency can support the sector in this transition 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

11  stakeholders  strongly  agreed  with  the  policy  objective  of  making  EMSA’s  formal  role  and 
hierarchy of tasks fit for purpose and reflect new tasks and operational practice, in order to provide 
the  Agency  with  a  solid  and  clearer  legal  basis.  These  included  one  EU  citizen  four  NGOs,  four 
public  authorities  and  two  business  associations.  Three  stakeholders  somewhat  agreed  with  this 
objective,  including  two  NGOs  and  one  business  association.  Finally,  one  company/business 
organisation had no opinion on this. 

80 

 
 
 
Figure 11 EMSA’s formal role and hierarchy of tasks to be fit for purpose and reflect 
new tasks and operational practice, in order to provide the Agency with a solid and 
clearer legal basis 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

Ensuring  that  EMSA  can  play  a  better  supporting  role  for  maritime  administrations  and  exploit 
economies of scale and bringing the mandate in alignment with parallel provisions in the maritime 
safety acquis was overall considered as a relevant policy objective by 13 respondents. Out of these, 
eight  strongly  agreed,  including  one  EU  citizen,  two  NGOs,  three  public  authorities  and  two 
business associations. Six respondents somewhat agreed with this policy objective, including four 
NGOs,  one  company/business  organisation,  and  one  business  association.  Finally,  one  public 
authority had no opinion on it. 

Figure  12  Ensure  EMSA  can  play  a  better  supporting  role  for  maritime 
administrations  and  exploit  economies  of  scale;  bringing  the  mandate  in  alignment 
with parallel provisions in the maritime safety acquis 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

Nine  respondents  strongly  agreed  with  the  fact  that  EMSA’s  mandate  should  cover  developing 
security threats, from piracy to cybersecurity, and better integrate EMSA’s mission into the wider 

81 

 
 
 
 
global landscape. These included four NGOs, four public authorities and one business association. 
Two  respondents  somewhat  agreed  with  this  policy  objective,  including  one  EU  citizen  and  one 
business  association.  Two  respondents  somewhat  disagreed  with  this  policy  objective,  including 
one company/business organisation and one NGO. Finally, two respondents had no opinion on it, 
including one NGO and one business association. 

Figure  13  EMSA’s  mandate  to  cover  developing  security  threats,  from  piracy  to 
cybersecurity, and better integrate EMSA’s mission into the wider global landscape 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

Respondents  were  given  the  possibility  to  specify  any  other  policy  objectives  that  they  believed 
should be set for the revision of EMSA’s mandate. One NGO suggested that stronger and broader 
sustainability  parameters  should  be  introduced,  in  order  to  include  the  full  range  of  stakeholders 
affected by ship traffic (e.g. port communities). Another NGO underlined that the role of EMSA in 
the  field  of  sustainability  and  environmental  protection  should  be  wider  and  more  structured,  in 
order to allow EMSA to support Member States, and provide them with complementary capacity to 
implement environmental provisions in various domains relating to shipping. Finally, another NGO 
stated that Member States should be actively encouraged to promote stakeholder participation when 
trying to improve maritime safety (e.g. by setting up working groups within Member States). 

3.4.  Potential future tasks 

The PC presented four lists of potential tasks that might be attributed to EMSA in the fields of 
safety, sustainability, digitalisation and security. Within each field, respondents were asked to 
indicate which specific tasks they believed EMSA should be attributed.  

In  the  following  subsections,  each  task  will  be  presented,  along  with  the  number  of 
respondents  that  selected  each  of  them.  Tasks  will  be  presented  in  descending  order,  from 
those that were most frequently selected, to those that were less frequently selected. 

3.4.1.  Tasks in the field of safety 

  Safety risks research and issuance of guidance for the uptake and deployment of new 
alternative fuels for ships was selected by nine respondents, including four NGOs, two 
business associations, two public authorities, and one company/business organisation. 

82 

 
 
 
  The  development  of  capacity  tools  and  equipment  to  better  support  the  accident 
investigation  conducted  by  the  Member  States  was  selected  by  nine  respondents, 
including  four  NGOs,  two  public  authorities,  one  company/business  organisation  and 
one EU citizen and one business association. 

  The  provision  of  support  with  tools  and  surveillance  in  search  and  rescue  operations 
was selected by eight respondents, including three NGOs, three public authorities, one 
business association and one EU citizen. 

  A stronger role for EMSA in relation to the human element in shipping, including on the 
implementation  of  the  Maritime  Labour  Convention  was  selected  by  six  respondents, 
including four NGOs, one public authority and one business association. 

  The establishment of voluntary common curricula for selected job profiles related to the 
function  of  the  Member  States  as  flag,  port  and  coastal  States  was  selected  by  four 
respondents, including two public authorities and two NGOs. 

  One NGO had no opinion  
  One public authority believed EMSA should not be given any additional tasks in the field 

of safety (although this stakeholder had already selected some from the list) 

  Four  respondents  indicated  additional  tasks  by  selecting  “Other”.  These  included  two 

public authorities, one NGO and one business association 

These  four  stakeholders  subsequently  provided  an  indication  for  additional  tasks  that  they 
would  attribute  to  EMSA.  One  public  authority  suggested  that  EMSA  should  provide  courses 
and  training  for  Search  and  Rescue  (SAR)  personnel  and  facilitate  a  complete  EU  SAR 
framework.  Moreover,  EMSA  should  develop  a  roadmap,  together  with  EASA,  to  facilitate 
MRCC’s  and  ARCC’s  to  integrate  into  JRCC’s.  Another  public  authority  wrote  that  the  EMSA 
ship database should include all recreational crafts under  European flags. On the same topic, 
one  business  association  underlined  that  support  should  be  provided  to  the  recreational 
boating sector and users, in terms of accident investigation and on EMCIP. 

In  turn,  one  NGO  pointed  at  the  fact  that  LNG  –  which  is  a  widely  used  fuel  –  should  be 
monitored  and  subject  to  safety  controls.  One  business  association  mentioned  that 
safety/security  rules  should  be  limited  to  what  is  strictly  necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  misuse 
that may be detrimental to competition.  

83 

 
 
Figure 14 Safety related tasks 

Safety risks research and issuance of guidance for the
uptake and deployment of new alternative fuels for ships

Establish voluntary common curricula for selected job
profiles related to the function of the Member States as
flag, port and coastal States

More integrated approach for visits to Member States, as
flag States, including the verification of more than one
legislation at one visit

Develop capacity tools and equipment to better support
the accident investigation conducted by the Member
States

A stronger role for EMSA in relation to the human
element in shipping,
including on the implementation of the Maritime Labour…

Support with tools and surveillance in search and rescue
operations

No opinion/I don't know

EMSA should not be given any additional tasks in the field
of safety

1

1

4

6

9

9

8

8

Other (Please specify)

4

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

3.4.2.  Tasks in the field of sustainability 

  The  provision  of  support  Member  States  and  industry  in  the  implementation  of  the  ETS 
Directive and FuelEU Maritime Regulation and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation 
proposals addressing climate change was selected by ten respondents. These included three 
public  authorities,  four  NGOs,  two  business  associations  and  one  company/business 
organisation.  

  Deploying operational measures, with possible adjustment of the existing oil recovery fleet, 
for  the  possible  marine  pollution  caused  by  new  pollutants  as  cargo  or  sources  of  power, 
including chemical pollution was selected by nine respondents. These included four NGOs, 
two public authorities, one business association, one EU citizen and one company/business 
organisation. 

  The provision of support Member States and industry in the implementation of new tasks to 
address  marine  litter  in  general,  including  lost  containers  and  underwater  noise,  under  the 
umbrella  of  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive,  and  to  support  its  revision  was 
selected by nine respondents. These included five NGOs, three public authorities, and one 
business association. 

84 

 
 
 
  Assistance  with  greening  of  port  operations  was  selected  by  eight  respondents,  including 

five NGOs and three business associations. 

  The  conduct  of  inspections  of  ship  recycling  facilities  in  third  countries  under  the  Ship 
Recycling Regulation was selected by six respondents, including four NGOs, one business 
association and one public authority. 

  Two respondents had no opinion, including one NGO and one public authority 
  No respondent selected the option “EMSA should not be given any additional tasks in the 

field of sustainability” 

  Four respondents indicated additional tasks by selecting “Other”. These included two NGOs 

and two business associations. 

In this perspective, one of the two NGOs highlighted that the issues of “closed loop” scrubbers and 
disposal of waste in ports should be addressed. The other NGO suggested to establish a system to 
monitor,  analyse  and  pinpoint  sources  of  marine  litter  and  noise.  In  turn,  one  of  the  business 
associations  mentioned  that,  in  the  context  of  sustainability/innovation  developments,  a  level 
playing  field  should  be  maintained  on  the  marine  equipment  aftermarket.  The  other  business 
organisation  a  recreational  boating  perspective  should  be  considered  in  relation  to  fuels,  engines 
and (leisure) ports. 

Figure 15 Sustainability related tasks 

Support Member States and industry in the
implementation of the ETS Directive and FuelEU…

Deploy operational measures, with possible adjustment
of the existing oil recovery fleet, for the possible…

Conduct inspections of ship recycling facilities in third
countries under the Ship Recycling Regulation

Support Member States and industry in the
implementation of new tasks to address marine litter…

10

9

9

6

Assistance with greening of port operations

8

No opinion/I don't know

2

EMSA should not be given any additional tasks in the
field of sustainability

0

Other (Please specify

4

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

3.4.3.  Tasks in the field of digitalisation 

85 

 
 
 
  The provision  of support to  the Commission  and Member States  in  the implementation  of 
the  European  Maritime  Single  Window  environment  (EMSWe)  was  selected  by  seven 
respondents, including three public authorities, two business associations, one NGO and one 
company/business organisation 

  Data  mining  of  existing  databases  in  order  to  develop  automated  behaviour  analytics  and 
foresight  was  selected  by  seven  respondents,  including  two  business  associations,  two 
NGOs and three public authorities 

  The  creation  of  a  Maritime  Awareness  Centre  integrating  the  surveillance  capabilities  of 
EMSA was selected by seven respondents, including four NGOs, two public authorities and 
one company/business organisation 

  The further development and operability of Common Information Sharing Environment was 
selected  by  six  respondents,  including  three  public  authorities,  two  business  associations 
and one NGO 

  Research  and  risk  model  analysis  on  MASS  was  selected  by  six  respondents,  including 

three public authorities, two NGOs and one company/business organisation 

  The  enlargement  of  tasks  under  the  Copernicus  program  on  surveillance  was  selected  by 

five respondents, including three NGOs and two public authorities 

  Assistance with optimisation of port calls was selected by five respondents, including two 
business  associations,  one  company/business  organisation,  one  NGO  and  one  public 
authority. 

  Four respondents had no opinion on this, including two NGOs, one business association and 

one EU citizen. 

  No respondent selected the option “EMSA should not be given any additional tasks in the 

field of digitalisation” 

  Five  respondents  indicated  additional  tasks  by  selecting  “Other”.  These  included  two 
NGOs,  one  public  authority,  one  company/business  organisation  and  one  business 
association 

In  relation  to  these,  the  company/business  organisation  stated  that  the  Maritime  Awareness 
centre should be integrated in already existing bodies (e.g. MAICC, MDaTGoG or Yaris). One 
of the NGOs suggested to create a working group on MASS, which incorporates marine pilots. 
The other NGO indicated that the THETIS system should be turned into a system identifying 
and disclosing the identity of polluters.  
The  business  association  stated  that  the  use  or  implementation  of  digital  emission  monitors 
should be promoted. Finally, the public authority suggested that standards for MRCC incident 
management  systems  and  their  cross-border  and  cross-sector  interfaces  should  be  developed. 
Moreover,  a  common/joint  EU  database  on  leisure  craft  should  be  created.  Finally,  outdated 
reporting systems should be replaced and integrated into new digitised systems. 

86 

 
 
Figure 16 Digitalisation related tasks 

Support the Commission and Member States in the
implementation of the Euro pean Maritime Single…

Data mining of existing databases in order to develop
automated behaviour analytics and foresight

Further development and operability of Common
Information Sharing Environment

Creation of a Maritime Awareness Centre integrating the
surveillance capabilities of EMSA

Enlarged Tasks under the Copernicus program on
surveillance

Research and risk model analysis on MASS

Assistance with optimisation of port calls

No opinion/I don't know

4

EMSA should not be given any additional tasks in the field
of digitalisation

0

Other (Please specify)

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

3.4.4.  Tasks related to security 

7

7

7

6

6

5

5

5

  The  introduction  of  new  tasks  in  the  field  of  cybersecurity  was  selected  by  eight 
respondents.  These  included  three  public  authorities,  two  business  associations,  one 
NGO and ne EU citizen 

  The introduction of additional tasks on surveillance and awareness in relation to piracy 
and armed robbery at sea was selected by five respondents. These included two public 
authorities, two NGOs and one business association 

  The  introduction  of  new  tasks  in  the  context  of  supporting  the  implementation  of  the 
coordinated  civil  -  military  maritime  security  research  agenda  was  selected  by  five 
respondents,  including  two  public  authorities,  one  NGO,  one  business  association  and 
one company/business organisation 

  The creation of a Maritime Awareness Centre with security alerts and threats analysis in 
maritime areas of interest was selected by five respondents. These included two business 
associations, one NGO, one public authority and one company/business organisation. 
  The introduction of additional tasks to combat maritime smuggling was selected by four 
respondents.  These  included  one  business  association,  two  NGOs  and  one  public 
authority 

87 

 
 
 
  Six  respondents  had  no opinion  on  this.  These were  four  NGOs,  one  public  authority, 

and one business association  

  Two  respondents  indicated  additional  tasks  by  selecting  “Other”.  These  included  one 

company/business organisation and one business association 

In this respect, the company/business organisation re-stated that the Maritime Awareness centre 
should  be  integrated  in  already  existing  bodies  (e.g.  MAICC,  MDaTGoG  or  Yaris)  (see 
digitalisation  related 
that 
safety/security rules should be limited to what is strictly necessary, in order to avoid misuse that 
may be detrimental to competition (see safety related tasks above).  

tasks  above).  The  business  association  similarly  re-stated 

Figure 17 Security related tasks 

New tasks in the field of cybersecurity

8

Additional tasks on surveillance and awareness in relation
to piracy and armed robbery at sea

New tasks in the context of supporting the
implementation of the coordinated civil -military maritime
security research agenda

Additional tasks to combat maritime smuggling

4

Creation of a Maritime Awareness Centre with security
alerts and threats analysis in maritime areas of interest

5

5

5

No opinion/I don't know

6

EMSA should not be given any additional tasks in the field
of security

0

Other (Please specify)

2

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

3.5.  Potential roles for EMSA 

The  PC  further  asked  respondents  to  indicate  which  new  roles  EMSA  could  undertake,  which 
would allow it to better attain its policy objectives. respondents could select multiple roles from a 
pre-defined list. these will be presented below, in descending order, starting from those selected by 
the highest number of respondents. 

  Preparation  of  contingency  plans  for  crisis  management  was  selected  by  six  respondents, 

including three public authorities, two NGOs and one company/business organisation 

88 

 
 
 
  The acquisition of a new capability on proposing fines to the EU ship inspection and survey 
organisations (ROs) was selected by six respondents,  including  two business  associations, 
two NGOs, one EU citizen and one public authority 

  Foresight  capabilities  to  assist  the  sector  during  major  future  crises  was  selected  by  five 
respondents, including two public authorities, two NGOs and one business association 
  Becoming  the  EU  technical  coordinator  and  assisting  the  Commission  and  the  Member 
States on the European Monitoring and Oversight program of the ship inspection and survey 
organisations (ROs) was selected by five respondents, including two business associations, 
two NGOs and one company/business organisation 

  Market  surveillance  for  the  Marine  Equipment  Directive  (MED)  was  selected  by  four 

respondents, including two business associations, one NGO and one public authority  

  Participating  in  the  monitoring  of  the  notified  conformity  assessment  bodies  under  MED 
was  selected  by  four  respondents,  including  two  business  associations,  one  NGO  and  one 
public authority   

  A new role for the Agency in the area of inland waterways and ports was selected by three 

respondents, including two NGOs and one public authority 

  Developing  a  standard  and  accredit  on  the  basis  of  it  any  training  and  educational 
institutions  issuing  an  EU  certificate  of  excellence  was  selected  by  two  respondents, 
including one NGO and one public authority 

  Five  respondents  had  no  opinion  on  this,  including  three  NGOs,  one  business  association 

and one public authority 

  One business association selected “Other”, on top of the roles it had already selected, and 
mentioned  that  the  implementation  of  Mutual  Recognition  requirements  should  be  timely 
and effectively supervised. 

89 

 
 
Figure 18 EMSA’s potential roles 

EU technical coordinator and assisting the Commission…

New capability on proposing fines to the EU ship…

Market surveillance for the Marine Equipment Directive…

Participate in the monitoring of the notified conformity…

Develop a standard and accredit on the basis of it any…

2

Preparation of contingency plans for crisis management

A new role for the Agency in the area of inland…

3

Foresight capabilities to assist the sector during major…

No opinion/I don't know

EMSA should not be entrusted any new role

0

Other (Please specify)

1

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

3.6.  Fee-based services 

4

4

6

6

5

5

5

A  total  of  nine  respondents  agreed  with  the  fact  that  EMSA  should  provide  some  of  its  services 
against  fees  to  third  countries  and  the  industry.  Among  these,  three  strongly  agreed  with  this 
statement,  including  two  NGOs  and  one  public  authority,  while  six  somewhat  agreed.  These 
included three NGOs, two public authorities and one company/business organisation. On the other 
hand,  two  respondents  somewhat  disagreed,  including  one  public  authority  and  one  business 
association,  while  one  EU  citizen  strongly  disagreed.  Three  respondents  had  no  opinion  on  this, 
including two business associations and one NGO. 

90 

 
 
 
Figure 19 Degree of agreement with the provision of EMSA services against a fee 

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

In  terms  of  potential  fee-based  tasks,  respondents  were  invited  to  select  the  ones  they  believed 
EMSA should be assigned.  

  The provision of learning services and capacity building to third countries and the industry 

was selected by six respondents, including three NGOs and three public authorities 

  Third party quality evaluation of seafarers training and education systems was selected by 
five respondents, including two NGOs, two public authorities and one business association 
  Access  to  digital  services  by  non-EU  Member  States,  such  as  the  Union  Maritime 
Information  and  Exchange  System  (SafeSeaNet)  and  CleanSeaNet  was  selected  by  five 
respondents. These included three public authorities and two NGOs 

  Oversight  and  monitoring  of  ROs  on  behalf  of  third  countries  was  selected  by  four 

respondents, including two NGOs, one business association and one public authority 

  Assistance with antipollution measures to the industry and third countries was selected by 

four respondents, including two NGOs and two public authorities 

  The  certification  of  ship  recycling  facilities  was  selected  by  three  respondents,  including 

two NGOs and one public authority  

  Five respondents had no opinion on potential fee-based services, including three NGOs and 

two business associations 

  One EU citizen believed EMSA should not perceive any fees for its services 
  One  company/business  organisation  suggested  additional  services  by  selecting  “other”. 
Firstly,  it  underlined  that  any  possibility  for  Member  States  to  pay  for  EMSA  to  prepare 
reports should  be inexpedient, given the impact  these  can have at  IMO level.  Further, the 
company/business  organisation  expressed  concerns  in  terms  of  the  fee-based  provision  of 
training  and  capacity  building  to  industry.  These  relate  to  the  fact  that  such  services  are 

91 

 
 
 
usually provided to shipping companies free of charge by national maritime administrations 
and,  in  particular,  SMEs  could  not  afford  their  costs.  Fees  could  be  charged  for  trainings 
provided to third countries, while the EMSA databases should remain available for free. 

Figure 20 Fee-based tasks 

Learning services and capacity building to third countries
and the industry
Third party quality evaluation of seafarers training and
education systems

Oversight and monitoring of ROs on behalf of third
countries

Assistance with antipollution measures to the industry and
third countries

Certification of ship recycling facilities

3

Access to digital services by non-EU Member States, such as
the Union…

No opinion/I don't know

EMSA should not perceive any fees for its services

other

1

1

Source: elaboration of the contractor (2022) 

3.7.  Other measures 

6

4

4

5

5

5

After presenting the tasks per category, the PC asked respondents to provide any additional input, 
in terms of other measures to be considered in response to the set of problems identified. Four PC 
participants  provided  answers  in  this  regard.  However,  one  of  them  had  referenced  the  answer 
provided  to  this  question  –  which  focused  entirely  on  fee-based  services,  as  the  answer  to  the 
previous  question  under  “other”.  Therefore,  it  was  reported  in  the  previous  section  on  fee-based 
tasks as the input provided by the company/business organisation.  

One  NGO  provided  suggestions  in  terms  of  improving  EMSA’s  activity  in  relation  to  the 
sustainability  of  shipping  and  to  the  implementation  of  existing  and  future  legislation.  These 
included enabling EMSA to conduct periodic controls with "sniffers" drones inside and around EU 
ports,  regardless  of  member  states’  requests,  so  as  to  enforce  the  sulphur  Directive  and  the  other 
relevant  legislation  that  pertain  to  the  reduction  of  emissions  from  ships.  Moreover,  a  stronger 
cooperation should be enacted, through EMSA, at EU level among coast guard and port authorities. 
EMSA could also contribute to the monitoring of the operation of closed and open loops scrubbers. 
It could, under certain circumstances, acquire the capacity to control and highlight Member States’ 
correct  or  incorrect  implementation  of  environmental  legislation.  finally,  the  THETIS  database 
should be open to the public and, in particular, data and evidence could be used as environmental 
information. 

92 

 
 
  
One  business  association  highlighted  that  the  implementation  of  the  Mutual  Recognition 
requirements under Regulation (EC) No 391/2009 should be supervised in order to attain EMSA’s 
objectives.  Moreover,  given  the  need  to  ensure  the  impartiality  and  independence  of  recognised 
organisations, EMSA's mandate could include appropriate measures to supervise their work more 
closely.  Finally,  one  public  authority  underlined  that  the  data  quality  of  SafeSeaNet  should  be 
improved. 

3.8.  Further comments 

In conclusion, further comments were provided by four respondents. 

One  company/business  organisation  mentioned  that  the  extension  of  EMSA’s  activities  in  the 
security  area  should  only  be  enforced  if  it  can  bring  any  added  value  to  the  already  existing  EU 
initiatives to tackle maritime security. 

One  NGO  suggested  that  cooperation  with  citizens  in  science  campaign  could  lead  to  enhanced 
public  participation  and  a  greater  amount  of  data  collected  in  relation  to  Member  States’ 
implementation of existing and future legislation.  

In terms  of the preparation of contingency plans by  EMSA, one public authority noted that  most 
Member States already have one national emergency plan. 

Finally, another NGO highlighted that EMSA is a well-organised and professional body that will be 
able  to  further  support  maritime  safety  and  security  in  the  future.  EMSA’s  contribution  could 
therefore be to support those countries needing assistance, as well as promote regional cooperation. 

4.  POSITION PAPERS 

Four  position  papers  were  submitted  with  the  PC.  Two  were  submitted  by  public  authorities, 
namely the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs and the French Authorities. 
One was submitted by a business association, the European International Shipowners' Association 
of  Portugal  (EISAP).  And  one  was  submitted  by  an  NGO,  the  European  Maritime  Pilots' 
Association (EMPA). 

93