France, Italie and the Principauté de Monaco collaborate in the fight against pollution...

This exercise, which took place from November 5 to 6 in French internal waters, was part of the tripartite RAMOGE [1] agreement for the prevention of and fight against marine pollution. Derived from this agreement, an operational response plan, named RAMOGEPOL, was signed in 1993 by the three countries. Its area of application extends from the mouth of the Grand Rhône in the west to the Capo d'Anzio light in the east, and encompasses Sardaigne and Corse.

MUTUALIZATION

The objective is to pool anti-pollution resources and harmonize operational procedures in the Mediterranean basin. To test its effectiveness, simulation exercises for combating accidental pollution are regularly organized. These full-scale exercises make it possible to evaluate the responsiveness of resources and assess the interaction between the organizations of the three countries. These experiences help to improve the effectiveness of this multilateral coordination. The scenario of the exercise involved a collision between two vessels, including a tanker, off Saint-Tropez. Following this collision, the tanker reported a breach impacting two bunker tanks at the rear of the vessel and causing a spill of heavy fuel oil. Immediately, a Marine nationale helicopter was deployed to fly over the area and confirmed the presence of two oil slicks. To combat this pollution, the préfecture maritime de la Méditerranée triggered its maritime crisis management plan within the framework of the organisation de la réponse sécurité civile (ORSEC). Faced with the scale of the pollution, it requested the assistance of its Italian and Monegasque partners under the RAMOGEPOL response plan.

ORSEC SYSTEM

As part of this at-sea anti-pollution exercise, nearly a dozen nautical and aerial assets were deployed. The préfecture maritime de la Méditerranée deployed the chartered support and assistance vessel (BSAA) Pionnier, whose main missions include fighting marine pollution, Italian assets from the ministère de l'environnement et de la sécurité énergétique and coast guards, and a patrol boat from the division de la police maritime et aéroportuaire monégasque. In addition to collaboration at sea under the RAMOGE agreement, the other crucial cooperation is between services operating on land and those operating at sea. As the land/sea interface must be seamless, this part was implemented with three main interlocutors: the état-major interministériel de zone de défense Sud and the centre opérationnel départemental de la préfecture du Var, which implemented their ORSEC systems for land-based pollution, and the prosecution service of the juridiction du littoral spécialisée (JULIS), which was contacted regarding the initial collision that generated the pollution. Finally, this year foreign observers from Morocco and Libya attended the exercise to improve mutual knowledge of marine pollution all around the Mediterranean basin. This multilateral cooperation and essential mutual knowledge, key factors in operational efficiency for environmental protection, were the two fundamental elements tested during this exercise. The actors and authorities involved praised the mobilization of the various resources and welcomed the success of RAMOGEPOL 2025.

[1] RAMOGE is an agreement signed in 1976 between France, Italie and Monaco that organizes the prevention of and fight against marine pollution (it owes its name to the first syllables of the three cities that initially defined its area of competence: Saint-RAphaël to the West, MOnaco and GEnes to the East).