Commission Recommendation of 23.9.2020 on cooperation among Member States concerning operations carried out by vessels owned or operated by private entities for the purpose of search and rescue activities

Abstract

Providing assistance to any persons found in distress at sea is a legal obligation of Member States established in international customary and conventional law, in particular the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention,1974), the United Nations Convention of the Law of theSea (UNCLOS, 1979), and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention, 1979), as well as Union law. The European Union is a contracting Party to UNCLOS.