The main purpose of the service is to provide subsea capability to EU-EEA national authorities through multipurpose Work-Class Remotely Operated Vehicles (WC-ROVs), Observation-Class ROVs (OC-ROVs), Offshore Support Vessels (OSV), sonar systems, and other tools capable of handling a wider variety of underwater missions.

The key features are summarised below:

• Services are provided on demand, free of charge, to EU-EEA national authorities in the field of accident investigation and Coast Guard functions, which retain operational control of the intervention.
• Services can be provided independently or integrated with equipment and capabilities of the requesting authority. This interoperability enhances the potential for multi-modal operations, where resources from EMSA and the requesting entity can be jointly deployed to achieve mission objectives efficiently.
• Confidentiality protocols have been defined to meet specific user requirements since underwater surveys may involve sensitive information.