The Adriatic is a semi-enclosed sea, characterised by unique environmental and cultural heritage, as well as  by important economic activities. It is also the waterway access to the heart of Europe, thus affected by heavy maritime traffic. Despite high international standards of navigation, there is the risk of accidents at sea resulting in pollution with oil or other pollutants. Mutual support and transnational coordinated response at sea is crucial to save the environment, to protect citizens and uphold local and national economies from the effects of pollution.

Based on the experience gained in the North Adriatic sea with the NAMIRS project (North Adriatic Maritime Incident Response System), ASAP (ADRIATIC SENSITIVE AREAS PROTECTION – MECHANISM), co-financed by the Interreg IPA ADRION Programme, aims at transferring knowledge and best practices from this region to the entire Adriatic basin. The goal is to enhance maritime protection against pollutant spills, especially in large-scale accidents that cannot be managed by a single Country.

The Central European Initiative – Executive Secretariat is coordinating a multi-level consortium of partners from six Adriatic Countries  (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia): Together they will develop common intervention rules for joint response, with a strong focus on easing transnational communication in case of accidents. First line responders will be involved in training programme, and two exercises organised to test the mechanism both in North Adriatic and South Adriatic. By the end of the project, a road map for setting up a Permanent Coordination Plaform (PCP) for the safeguard of the Adriatic Sea will be finalised.