Equasis 25th Anniversary

The 25th Anniversary of the Equasis website, which was launched on 17 May 2000, was celebrated on 5-6 June in Paris. The event brought together over 50 representatives from the Equasis community, including data providers, users, and contributing States.

Participants engaged in open and constructive discussions focused on the strategic roadmap for the next five years and the broader future of the project. Central to the conversations were the enduring values of transparency, accessibility, and the reliability of maritime data.

The Equasis Management Unit (MU) and Technical Unit (TU), represented by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the French Directorate for Maritime Affairs, extend their sincere gratitude to all who contributed to this milestone celebration and continue to support the mission of Equasis.

Supervisory Committee meeting on the 5th of December 2024

The 44th Equasis Supervisory Committee meeting, chaired by Marc Léger (France representative), was hosted by IMO in London in a hybrid format.

The Equasis Supervisory Committee was updated, among others, on the discussions from the 43rd and 44th Editorial Board Meetings and Data Sharing Agreements and Protocols with providers.

The MU presented new data on marine environment protection, the new version of the Annual World Fleet Report's statistics, and website design improvements.

The Committee reviewed 2024 activities and approved the 2025 activity plan and budget, which includes the Equasis 25th anniversary ceremony. Finally, it was also reviewed the long-term strategy for the period 2026 – 2030.

Editorial Board meeting on the 22nd of October 2024

Equasis held its 44th Editorial Board meeting, under the chairmanship of Jan Fransen, Green Award Foundation, at EMSA’s Lisbon premises in a hybrid format with the presence of the Editorial Board members.

During the meeting discussions included, among other, the review of Data Sharing Agreements and Protocols with Equasis providers, potential new providers, and the integration of protection of the Marine Environment data.

The TU and MU reported on the Equasis website usage and availability, the updated Annual World Fleet Report's statistics, and proposed website design improvements.

The Board also reviewed the ongoing activities and provided feedback on the 2024 and 2025 action plans.

Editorial Board meeting on the 28th of May 2024

The 43rd Equasis Editorial Board meeting was held via video conference on 28 May 2024, under the chairmanship of Jan Fransen of Green Award Foundation. Organized by EMSA, acting as Equasis' Management Unit, the Board reviewed updates from the 43rd Supervisory Committee and COPIL meetings, along with Data Sharing Agreements and Protocols with Data Providers.

Discussions included proposals for new data provider integration and marine environment protection data for the website. The MU and TU reported on website usage, proposed design updates, and reviewed ongoing activities, providing an update on the 2024 work program and the new developments for the 2025 action plan.

COPIL - Meeting between the Management Unit and the Technical Unit on the 11th of April 2024

On 11 April 2024, the Equasis Management Unit met with the Equasis Technical Unit in Saint Malo, France.

During the meeting was discussed the 2024 work plan, the Equasis Statistics, ongoing developments, the status update of pending issues from previous years and discuss future developments. Discussions also covered ways to enhance the cooperation between MU and TU to improve the management of user’s requests.

Supervisory Committee meeting on the 5th of December 2023

The 43rd Equasis Supervisory Committee meeting was hosted by IMO in London in a hybrid format, and chaired by Marc Léger, France representative – General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, Fishery and Aquaculture.

The Equasis Supervisory Committee was updated on the 41st and 42nd Editorial Board discussions and ongoing negotiations between the MU and IMO Secretariat regarding data provision.

The TU reported on website usage, while the MU presented a new data provider application, the 2023 activities update and financial report, and the 2024 activity plan and budget, which were approved.

The Committee also supported expanding Equasis data on maritime environment protection, and the MU will work in the coming years to materialise it.

Editorial Board meeting on the 26th of October 2023

Equasis held its 42nd Editorial Board meeting, under the chairmanship of Jan Fransen, Green Award Foundation, at EMSA’s Lisbon premises in a hybrid format.

Discussions covered updates on the latest developments on double reporting of inspections and detentions, the typology of reported follow up inspections by various PSC regimes, and potential new data providers. The TU and MU presented updates on website usage, the revamped concept for the Annual World Fleet Report's statistics, and proposed design enhancements.

The Board reviewed ongoing activities and provided input on the 2023 and 2024 action plans, emphasising the focus on quality control and the added item on maritime environment protection that has been introduced.

Editorial Board meeting on the 18th of April 2023

The 41st Equasis Editorial Board meeting, chaired by Mr. Jan Fransen of the Green Award Foundation, was held via video conference on 18 April 2023.

Key discussions included updates on double reporting of inspections and detentions, the typology of reported of follow up inspections across various PSC regimes, and proposed changes to the visual design of Equasis webpages.

The Board reviewed ongoing activities, provided updates on the 2023 work program, and discussed new developments for the 2024 action plan.

COPIL - Meeting between the Management Unit and the Technical Unit on the 24th of March 2023

On 24 March 2023, the Equasis Management Unit met with the Technical Unit in Saint Malo, France.

The meeting focused on enhancing the cooperation between the Management Unit and the Technical Unit, reviewing the 2023 work plan, ongoing developments, and pending issues from previous years, as well as discussing future developments.

The implementation of decisions from the 42nd Supervisory Committee meeting was also addressed.

Supervisory Committee meeting on the 10th of November 2022

Equasis held its 42nd Supervisory Committee meeting under the chairmanship of Leendert Bal, Head of Department Safety, Security and Surveillance of EMSA. The meeting hosted by IMO in London in hybrid format.

The Equasis Supervisory Committee, among others, was briefed on the results of the penetration test performed against Equasis to assess its cybersecurity level, reviewed the activities concluded in 2022 and approved the activity plan and budget proposed by the Equasis Management Unit for 2023.

A proposal for a new concept for the statistics of the Annual World Fleet Report was adopted and the Management Unit will work in the coming years to materialise it.

Editorial Board meeting on the 28th of September 2022

Equasis held its 40th Editorial Board meeting under the chairmanship of Jan Fransen, Green Award. The meeting hosted by Turk Lloydu in Istanbul in hybrid format with the physical presence of the Editorial Board members.

The Equasis Editorial Board, among others, was briefed on the results of the penetration test performed against Equasis to assess its security level, reviewed the on-going activities and commented the 2022 and 2023 planned actions.

The meeting included a Workshop to discuss two proposals presented by the Management Unit: one to modify the visual appearance of some of the existing Equasis web pages and another related to a new concept for the Equasis annual statistics.

Editorial Board meeting on the 4th of May 2022

After two years of holding online meetings, Equasis held its 39th Editorial Board meeting in hybrid mode under the chairmanship of Jan Fransen, Green Award.

The Equasis Editorial Board discussed, among others, on the latest developments on Double Reporting of inspections and detentions, the 2022 work program, the typology of reported follow up inspections by various PSC regimes, reviewed the on-going activities and commented the 2022 planned actions.

The next meeting is planned for September 2022 in Istanbul Turkey.

Meeting between the Management Unit and the Technical Unit

On 5 April 2022, the Equasis Management Unit met with the Equasis Technical Unit in Saint Malo (France) for the first time after the pandemic period and once travel limitations were eased.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the teams and discuss the proposed actions to be launched in 2022 and follow up on ongoing developments.

Supervisory Committee meeting on the 14th of December 2021

The Equasis 41st Supervisory Committee (SC) meeting was held through video conference on 14 December 2021. The meeting was organised by EMSA which acts as the Management Unit (MU) of Equasis.

The attendees were updated on the discussions held during the 37th and 38th Editorial Board Meetings, the conclusions of the Equasis Online Survey and the two Workshops organised with Equasis Users and Data Providers.

The MU updated the Committee on Double Reporting latest developments. Future actions to reduce or automate interventions in the Equasis system were discussed.

The SC members agreed to have Agreements and Protocols for Sharing Data with all Data Providers and approved the Equasis 2021 financial report and the 2022 budget.

Editorial Board meeting on the 16th of November 2021

The Equasis 38th Editorial Board meeting was held through video conference on 16 November 2021. The meeting was organised by EMSA which acts as the Management Unit of Equasis.
Among other issues, the Board was updated on the latest developments on Double Reporting and future actions were discussed to reduce or automate of certain type of interventions in the Equasis system.
The Editorial Board members recognised the stage of maturity that Equasis has reached and, as such, the need to ensure uniformity in the provision of data to Equasis and to safeguard the best control practices for quality management by promoting the existence of Agreements and Protocols for Sharing Data with all Data Providers.

Survey and Workshops

The Equasis Management Unit (MU) launched in beginning of 2021 a questionnaire/survey on the Equasis website to make Equasis fit for purpose for its users over the next decade.

The Equasis MU received about 2400 replies and invited those who responded to a remote workshop.
The interactive session with audience and poll questions was held in April 2021 to discuss these results.

The result of the survey was also presented in the workshops for the Editorial Board.

The presentation of the survey results can be found here.

Supervisory Committee meeting on the 8 of December 2020

The 40th meeting of the Equasis Supervisory Committee, for first time in remote mode, was organised by EMSA acting as the Equasis Management Unit.
The next five years action plan, 2021 budget and tasks were some of the issues discussed.

Editorial board meeting on the 9 of October 2020

For the first time in Equasis history, the Equasis Editorial Board meeting was held through video conference on 9 October 2020.
The meeting was hosted by the Equasis Management Unit which is run by EMSA.

The 36th Editorial Board meeting gathered 31 participants from 20 data providers. The meeting proved to be very constructive and fruitful in view of all the comments and interventions and successfully completed some of the deliberations included in the agenda.
Among other issues, the action plan for 2020, the long-term strategy (2021 – 2025), and the program of events for the “Coming of Age” 21st Anniversary of Equasis, were discussed.

Workshop of AIS data

Equasis held a workshop on the potential inclusions and use of AIS data on our website Equasis. The conclusion of the workshop was that this proposal did not contribute to the overall objectives of Equasis. This conclusion was then supported by the Equasis Supervisory Committee.