International Charter

In the case of a major oil spill disaster in European seas and adjacent waters, EMSA, through the CleanSeaNet service, is co-operating with the International Charter (Space and Major Disasters) for the rapid access to satellite imagery and information products over the areas affected by or at risk of serious pollution.

This co-operation, in recognition of EMSA’s operational role and competency in the provision of satellite imagery for marine oil spill monitoring and detection in Europe, will ensure the fast and efficient delivery to EMSA of all relevant satellite images and information products made available through the framework of the Charter. In the case of a major oil spill disaster in European seas or adjacent waters, EMSA will act as a co-ordination point, using in-house expertise and contractual arrangements with satellite operators and service providers to rapidly download information to ground stations in Europe and to further process and analyse the data. In this way the Agency can derive comprehensive results to best support affected Member States and the European Commission in the overall response chain.

As part of its operational role within the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection, the EU Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) acts as the unique gateway for the European Community to activate the Charter to supply data, during periods of crisis, in response to ‘natural or technological disasters...providing a basis for critical information for the anticipation and management of potential crises’. The MIC (which is run by the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission, ECHO) remains the sole Authorised User for all Charter activations on behalf of the European Community, including oil spill disasters in European and non-European seas.