European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)

Today the European Ombusdman, Teresa Anjinho, paid her first visit to EMSA, where she was welcomed by our Executive Director Maja Markovčić Kostelac.

🌊 This week we open the 2026 Multipurpose Maritime Operation in La Manche and the Southern North Sea – our most comprehensive operation in this region to date.

The opening session brought together representatives from Belgium, France and the Netherlands, alongside colleagues from the European Commission, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and Frontex, to launch what is now the third consecutive EMSA-led MMO in this area.

The expanded participation this year – with the Netherlands and Frontex joining the operation for the first time – reflects the growing confidence in this cooperative framework and the broader momentum of European Cooperation on Coast Guard Functions. Together, 11 national authorities and three EU agencies will work across nine coast guard functions and more than 30 use cases over the next four months.

🚢 La Manche is the world's busiest ocean shipping lane, with around 500 SOLAS vessels transiting daily through one of Europe's most strategically important, complex and environmentally sensitive maritime areas. With eight coordination centres involved, the operation brings together pooled assets and shared resources to meet real operational needs.

Support will be delivered across all maritime dimensions:
🛰️ Satellite oil spill detection via CleanSeaNet
✈️ 80 days of RPAS operations
🚢 Surface assets including an EFCA offshore patrol vessel and Frontex co-financed maritime and aerial surveillance assets
🤿 ROV deployments for underwater surveys
👮 Frontex Standing Corps personnel

Analytical tools will support national authorities throughout, with all activity reported in a live centralised dashboard.

The maritime space is a shared responsibility – and it is our privilege at EMSA to support and connect the authorities who protect it every day.

Our thanks go to our Belgian, French and Dutch partners including The Belgian Navy, Préfecture maritime de la Manche et mer du Nord and the Kustwacht Nederland, and our colleagues at the European Commission, European Fisheries Control Agency - EFCA and Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – we look forward to four months of close cooperation ahead. 🤝

We are honoured to be a finalist entry in the European Ombudsman "Award for Good Administration" 2026 for our project “Diversity initiative to connect youth to maritime careers.” 💙

Through this project, we promote diversity and inclusion in the maritime sector by:

⚓Introducing children to maritime and sustainability concepts
⚓Showcasing career paths for teenagers
⚓Supporting young adults through traineeships and job fairs.

Find out more about all the projects nominated https://link.europa.eu/N4KxH3 and vote for your favourite here (we are number 15 😉) ➡️ https://enonet.eu/survey/index.php/227332?lang=en

🚢 Progress on FuelEU Maritime implementation

The EU's maritime sector continues to advance the rollout of FuelEU Maritime, with over 12,000 vessels – more than 90% of those concerned – already compliant with the Regulation.

Why does it matter?
⚓ Fleet GHG intensity has been reduced beyond current FuelEU targets.
⚓ Over 13,000 FuelEU reports verified, ensuring full transparency in emissions data.
⚓ Nine out of ten vessels are leveraging pooling for smarter and more flexible compliance.
✅ These early results point to a solid compliance framework, including the FuelEU Database, helping operators meet their obligations.

At a time of global uncertainty, this also underlines the sector’s capacity to deliver on decarbonisation while maintaining stability.

Find out more: https://link.europa.eu/hnDRC8

On 9 May every year, we mark the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration and the beginning of the European project.

This year we are also celebrating 40 years since our host country Portugal and Spain joined the EU. 💙💙

So, we asked some of our Portuguese and Spanish colleagues at EMSA to tell us what this milestone Europe Day means for them.





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Today our Executive Director Maja Markovčić Kostelac welcomed the Minister of National Defence of Greece, Nikos Dendias Νίκος Δένδιας and the Portuguese Deputy Minister for Defence Policy, Nuno Pinheiro Torres, to our Lisbon headquarters.

During their visit, Minister Dendias and Deputy Minister Pinheiro Torres were briefed by Ms. Markovčić Kostelac on EMSA’s role and activities, before observing our operational work in action in our European Maritime Awareness Centre.

Today our Executive Director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac opened the annual EMSA-ECSA meeting held in our Lisbon headquarters.

The meeting gathered delegates from around Europe for the traditional annual exchange on topical sustainability and safety issues, including decarbonisation and the safety of alternative fuels.

It took place in the framework of the ECSA Safety and Environment committee meeting which also took place at EMSA's premises.

Today our EMSA Open Day in Poland continued with an information session for national authorities in the offices of the Polish Maritime Office, Szczecin, led by our Executive Director Maja Markovčić Kostelac.

Ms. Markovčić Kostelac outlined EMSA’s services and activities to a range of Polish maritime stakeholders, who also viewed a live presentation from EMSA’s European Maritime Awareness Centre (EMAC).

The meeting, chaired by Wojciech Zdanowicz, Director of the Maritime Office, Szczecin Urząd Morski w Szczecinie also featured a presentation by EMSA on EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime.

Today our Executive Director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac, together with Poland’s State Secretary for Maritime Economy, Arkadiusz Marchewka, addressed students at the Maritime University of Szczecin - International as part of EMSA’s Open Day in the city.

The maritime students heard about EMSA’s work and activities, including via a live link to EMSA's European Maritime Awareness Centre, and received an overview of the Agency's traineeship programme.

Our Executive Director Maja Markovčić Kostelac and her team welcomed today a delegation from the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation (IALA) to our Lisbon headquarters.
The delegation, headed by Secretary-General Francis Zachariae, held discussions with Ms. Markovčić Kostelac and her management team on a wide range of topics of mutual interest and cooperation including capacity building.
The group had the opportunity to see EMSA’s operational work in action at our European Maritime Awareness Centre (EMAC), and visited the EMSA e-Laboratory, where they were given a demonstration of the virtual reality tools used in our training activities.

Today our Executive Director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac, welcomed the Ambassador of Greece 🇬🇷 to Portugal, Her Excellency Konstantina Kamitsi, to our Lisbon headquarters.
During her visit, Ambassador Kamitsi and Ms. Markovčić Kostelac discussed EMSA’s work and activities. 🌊⛴️ 🐬

Embassy of Greece in Portugal - Embaixada da Grécia em Portugal