The two meetings were organised in coordination with the Italian Coast Guard within the framework of all three EU-funded Neighbourhood Projects implemented by EMSA (SAFEMED V, BCSEA II, IPA II) and took place in Rome on 25 and 26 January, respectively. Representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine for the SAFEMED V Project; Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Türkiye for the BCSEA II Project; and Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Montenegro for the IPA II Project attended both events.

The sharing of terrestrial-AIS (T-AIS) data is a 3-phase initiative included in the action documents of the Projects that was already introduced during their previous iterations.

• Phase 1 consists of T-AIS data sharing between the beneficiary countries of each project.
• Phase 2 includes the additional exchange of T-AIS data between the projects’ beneficiaries and European countries that are connected to the Mediterranean Regional AIS Server hosted by the Italian Coast Guard (MAREΣ).
• Phase 3 aims to include the projects’ beneficiary countries in the SafeSeaNet EU vessel traffic monitoring and information system.

EMSA’s representatives took the opportunity to emphasise the importance of increasing the number of countries participating in the T-AIS data sharing. Additionally, it was explained that the implementation of Phase 3 is planned in two stages and a simplified version of SafeSeaNet will be used before enabling the system’s full functionality. The initial system will include the exchange of port call information (without the detailed PortPlus messages), incident reports and ships’ MRS information.

The realisation of Phase 3 will represent a significant step forward in creating a wider community of vessel traffic information exchange through a single platform. To date, Ukraine, Georgia, Morocco, and Montenegro have expressed their interest to proceed into this phase and EMSA’s representatives reaffirmed the readiness to provide the necessary support to all interested parties.