assist the Commission in preparing EU legislation in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution by ships
assist the Commission in the effective implementation of EU legislation on maritime safety and maritime security, in particular by monitoring the overall functioning of the EU port State control regime,
organise training activities, develop technical solutions and provide technical assistance related to the implementation of EU legislation
help develop a common methodology for investigating maritime accidents
provide data on maritime safety and on pollution by ships and help improve the identification and pursuit of ships making unlawful discharges
In doing so, EMSA closely cooperates with the Member States' maritime services.
History and structure
New building in Lisbon
EMSA was founded in 2002, after the EU adopted substantial packages of legislation relating to maritime security in the wake of major shipping disasters in European waters, such as those involving the ferry Estonia and the oil tankers Erika and Prestige. It was felt that a specialised technical agency was necessary to overview the enforcement of this legislation and help in its implementation.
EMSA is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, and moved in June 2009 to new, purpose-built premises near Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. It has a staff of just under 200 and operates a small network (at the end of 2009, 16 vessels) of stand-by oil recovery vessels contracted from the commercial sector, designed to provide top-up capacity to Member States' own response resources.[2] Its executive director, since 2012, is Markku Mylly from Finland.[3]
The 2008 budget for EMSA was just over EUR 50,000,000, of which over a third, EUR 18,000,000 is specifically used for at sea pollution response tasks.
^Much paraphrased from article 2 of the Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency, OJ L 208, 5.8.2002, p.1[permanent dead link] (PDF), as amended by the Regulation (EC) No 724/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency, OJ L 129, 29.4.2004, p.1[permanent dead link] (PDF)
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