After the sinking of the oil tanker Haven in 1991, a plan to combat accidental pollution – called RAMOGEPOL plan – was adopted in 1993 under the RAMOGE Agreement. Its aim is to strengthen cooperation in the event of a major pollution incident and to share the available ships and aircraft of the three States.
The area covered by the plan is called “RAMOGEPOL area”. It extends from the mouth of the Rhone in the west (A) to the “Capo d’Anzio” lighthouse in the east (D), including Sardinia and Corsica.
The RAMOGEPOL area is divided into two zones: in the first one, mutual assets are automatically provided (orange and yellow zones); in the second one, joint deployment of assets is envisaged with the prior authorisation of the competent national authorities (dark green zone).
2021 RAMOGEPOL EXERCISE AT CAP CORSE
2021 RAMOGEPOL EXERCISE AT CAP CORSE
RAMOGEPOL exercises
Coordinated RAMOGEPOL exercises are organised every year to simulate accidental pollution with the aim of optimising the use of resources deployed by the three countries to combat marine pollution.
The relevance and effectiveness of these exercises were demonstrated in October 2018 in the response following the collision between the ro-ro vessel Ulysse and the container ship Virginia off the coast of Corsica.
OSCAR-MED Operations
Coordinated aerial surveillance operations are also carried out every year to combat illegal discharges in the Mediterranean (OSCAR-MED operations).
For several days, airborne resources patrol a given area to detect pollution and identify the perpetrators. The information gathered is then shared between countries to initiate legal proceedings against offenders.
