It is very important to us that citizens can find and access the information, documents, or data (where applicable) that they need from EMSA.

Access to information, access to documents, and access to data all form part of EMSA’s commitment both to transparency and to the fundamental right of public access to documents under the relevant EU legislation.

We do this by: giving clear information on how to access these three components; setting out our obligations under the relevant legislation; and letting you know what you have to do in order to request the information, documents, or data that you require.

In EMSA, distinction is made between processing requests for general Information; applications for Access to Documents, and requests for access for maritime data (from specific category of users). For more details you are invited to consult the dedicated sections on each. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that following the correct channel for submissions will ensure a prompt handling, and on the contrary, using a different channel for submitting your request/application may lead to delays in processing

Access to information

Here in EMSA, we define information as facts, figures, news items, etc. which are not captured or documented in a specific content or format, thus falling outside the access to documents regime.

In line with our commitment to transparency, a good deal of this information is already published on our website. We have an extensive, searchable, frequently asked questions section on our website, as well as an extensive repository of information and technical documents published on our website, including guidelines, manuals, and inventories and technical reports.

If what you are looking for isn’t already published on our website and you are not necessarily interested in a document which may contain this information, only in the information itself, you can submit a request for information via our contact form. We will attempt to process your request for information within 15 working days, in line with the principle of good administration.

Please note that in order to process your request, you’ll have to provide certain personal data to us. We will process your data in line with EMSA’s privacy rules and in line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.

Access to Documents

The principle of transparency and the rights of individuals to access documents of EU bodies are laid down in both Article 15 of the TFEU and Article 42 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and implemented through Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. Here at EMSA, our Administrative Board decided on the arrangements that govern the public access to documents in Decision No. 2004/8/3 concerning the arrangements to be applied by the Agency for public access to documents, of 25 June 2004, as amended.

Under Article 3 of Regulation 1049/2001, a "document" shall mean any content whatever its medium (written on paper or stored in electronic form or as a sound, visual or audio-visual recording) concerning a matter relating to the policies, activities and decisions falling within the institution's sphere of responsibility.

Data related applications from the general public are in the scope of access to documents.

Any EU citizen, as well as any natural or legal person residing or having a registered office in the EU has the right to access documents held by EMSA, subject to the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Please note that a request to access to documents may fall under the exceptions provided for in Articles 4 and 9 of Regulation 1049/2001.

How we process your request for documents:

Your application will be acknowledged and processed within 15 working days starting from the registration of your application.
Registration will only be made once the application is considered clear and unambiguous; in this sense we may revert back to you with a clarification request before we register your application. This will allow us to better identify the scope of your application and the documents which fall within the scope.
In exceptional cases, this time limit may be extended by 15 working days.
In case EMSA has to refuse access to a document in full or partially, a justification will be provided.
In case of a full or partial refusal of your application, EMSA will provide you with a justification.
Within 15 working days of receiving EMSA’s reply you can apply for a reconsideration of such initial decision through a confirmatory application.

Applications for documents may be submitted:

by filling out an EMSA Documents Request Form;
by ordinary mail to: EMSA, Praça‎ Europa 4, Cais do Sodré, 1249-206 LISBOA, Portugal (as per Contact us section)
by filling out an EMSA Data Request Form;

Access to maritime data

Note, that this section is addressed to EU and national administrations only, therefore only requests coming from European Union (EU) Member State national government authorities and EU institutions and bodies, and by projects or programmes established by these parties and working on issues of public interest shall be considered when using the submission forms in this section. For requests from the general public kindly consult the Access to Documents section

Only European Union (EU) Member State national government authorities and EU institutions and bodies, as well as projects or programmes established by these parties and working on issues of public interest, can request access to maritime data held by EMSA.

For each specific data type, a different procedure is applied. The applicable procedures are described in this document, which provides the following information:

What data are available;
How to apply;
Conditions for obtaining access to or receiving the data;
What happens once a request has been approved.

Please read the document carefully before making a request. Once you have done so, please select the service for which you would like to request data using the links below. Each link takes you to a different form, which you will have to fill out  and submit to us.

SafeSeaNet data access & request forms

Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) data form

Disclaimer
Please note that, in order to process your request, you’ll have to provide certain personal data to us. We will process your data in line with EMSA’s privacy rules and in line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.