Contact details Bulgaria - DONA
Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC)
Contact details
Summary of functions
The Minister of Transport and Communications conducts the state policy in the field of commercial shipping and represents the Republic of Bulgaria in the international organizations in this field, on the grounds of Art. 7 of the Merchant shipping code:
- performs the functions of an administration under international treaties, to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party, and makes proposals for the country's accession to international organizations and treaties;
- determines the standards for preparation and the procedures for certification of seafarers and monitors their compliance;
- sets up safety standards for commercial shipping, controls compliance with safety rules and organizes shipping activities;
- controls the prevention and limitation of pollution by ships of the territorial sea, inland sea and inland waterways;
- establishes an organization for search and rescue operations at sea and in inland waterways and for the identification of sources of environmental pollution;
- establishes an organization for the collection and provision of information, management and control of ship traffic in cooperation with the Minister of Defense;
- coordinates the audit activity in compliance with the requirements of the international agreements in the field of commercial shipping, to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party, including the publication of the results of the audit carried out by the International Maritime Organization on the website of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The Minister of Transport and Communications exercises his powers through the Executive Agency "Maritime Administration", which according to Art. 360 of the Merchant shipping code is a legal entity, a secondary administrator of budget credits, based in Sofia with regional offices in Bourgas, Varna, Rousse and Lom.
Organigram
Executive Agency "Maritime Administration" (EAMA)
Contact details
ADDRESS: 9, Diakon Ignatii str., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Summary of functions
The status of Executive Agency "Maritime administration" is regulated by the Merchant Shipping Code - article 360, (1).
The activity, structure, work organization and staff is specified in an Ordinance adopted by the Council of Ministers.
Executive Agency "Maritime Administration":
- organizes and coordinates activities to ensure the safety of navigation in the maritime spaces and inland waterways of the Republic of Bulgaria with respect to:
- ships flying the Bulgarian flag, regardless of their ownership and purpose, with the exception of military and border police vessels;
- ships flying foreign flag in inland sea waters, territorial sea or inland waterways of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as in a Bulgarian port;
- military and border police vessels, when used commercially or involved in search and rescue operations in the Bulgarian maritime search and rescue area and in the inland waterways of the Republic of Bulgaria;
- shipowners of vessels flying the Bulgarian flag;
- Bulgarian seafarers;
- exercises control over:
- compliance of ships flying the Bulgarian or foreign flag with the requirements of the safety of navigation;
- provision of traffic management and information services for shipping in maritime areas, inland waterways, canals, ports of the Republic of Bulgaria and other designated areas;
- observance of the seafarers’ working and living conditions;
- issues a Notice to skippers informing about changes in the navigation situation and special temporary regulations for safety of navigation on inland waterways of the Republic of Bulgaria;
- exercises port state and environmental control over shipping to prevent environmental pollution by ships;
- organizes and coordinates the search and rescue of people, ships and aircraft in the Bulgarian maritime search and rescue area and the inland waterways of the Republic of Bulgaria by participating in the Joint Maritime and Aviation Search and Rescue Coordination Center;
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participates with forces and means in the Single Rescue System in the event of distress at sea or inland waterways of the Republic of Bulgaria;
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exercises control over the conformity of the training for qualification, special and additional training of seafarers with the requirements of the national legislation, the law of the European Union and the international treaties to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party;
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organizes and conducts seafarers' certification exams and issues seafarers' certificates of competence;
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keeps records of ships, seafarers, ports and specialized port facilities and port operators in the Republic of Bulgaria and provides related information;
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monitors the implementation of the provisions for ensuring the security of ships flying the Bulgarian flag, ports and port areas in the Republic of Bulgaria;
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EAMA issues certificates of professional competence to carriers for carriage of goods by inland waterways;
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EAMA cooperates closely with the following international organizations: International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Danube Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the International Organization for Mobile Satellite Telecommunications (IMSO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Paris and Black Sea Memoranda of Understanding on Port State Control, as well as the specialized bodies of the European Union in the field of maritime safety and security, prevention of marine pollution by ships.
Organigram
Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company (BPI Co.)
Contact details
ADDRESS: 69, Shipchenski Prohod Blvd., fl. 0, fl. 1 and fl. 4, 1574 Sofia, Bulgaria
Summary of functions
The activities of the Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company (BPI Co.), as defined in art. 115m of the Law on Maritime Spaces, Inland Waterways and Ports of the Republic of Bulgaria include:
- construction of ports and port terminals - state property, as well as reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance of port terminals - state property, in public transport ports, except in cases these have been assigned to a concessionaire or to a single-shareholder commercial company with state participation in the capital; these activities shall be coordinated with the Minister of Environment and Waters;
- management of the state property in public transport ports;
- provision of access to public transport ports referred to in Article 93, items 1 through 4;
- maintenance of existing and construction of new approach canals, port aquatories, sea and river depots for the disposal of dredging mass, breakwaters, networks and facilities from the common technical infrastructure, including the access infrastructure, in the ports referred to in Article 106a and in public transport ports that are state property; these activities shall be coordinated with the Minister of Environment and Waters;
- securing the navigation safety in the territorial sea, the internal sea waters, the canals and the port aquatory, except where this has been assigned to the Ministry of Defence;
- setting, collecting and spending of the port charges under Article 103c, Paragraph 1 and Article 109a, Paragraph 3 of the Law on Maritime Spaces, Inland Waterways and Ports of the Republic of Bulgaria;
- elaboration, maintenance and storage of the register containing data on the port infrastructure that is state property;
- assistance to the Minister of Transport and Communications in exercising control over the implementation of the concession contracts and the contracts with the single-shareholder commercial companies for performance of the port services and activities referred to in Art. 116a, paragraph 1 of the Law on Maritime Spaces, Inland Waterways and Ports of the Republic of Bulgaria;
- organisation of the collection, updating and provision of specialised data on the objects referred to in Article 32, Paragraph 1, item 1 of the Cadastre and Property Register Act and development of specialised maps, registers and information systems for ports referred to in Article 106a and for public transport ports, or the terminals of such ports which are state property;
- conclusion of contracts with port operators for performance of port services regarding the reception and processing of waste - result from navigation;
- construction and maintenance of facilities servicing the system for monitoring of ship movements and information and the Bulgarian river information system;
- provision of services through the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS);
- provision of telecommunication ship-shore / shore-ship services;
- provision of services pertinent to traffic control and information support of shipping and the provision of river information services relevant to ship traffic;
- provision of hydrometeorological information;
- responsibility for the availability, implementation and maintenance of security plans for ports referred to in Article 106a.
- carrying out ancillary activities pursuant to Article 116a of the Law on Maritime Spaces, Inland Waterways and Ports of the Republic of Bulgaria in public transport ports and the terminals of such ports which are state property;
- maintaining forces and resources for participation in rescue and urgent emergency remedial work carried out in the port aquatories referred to in Article 106a of the Law on Maritime Spaces, Inland Waterways and Ports of the Republic of Bulgaria and the public transport ports that are state property in accordance with the National Disaster Protection Plan;
- development, maintenance and administration of a national system for electronic information exchange in public transport ports.
Organigram
National Customs Agency
Contact details
ADDRESS: 47, G.S.Rakovski Str.,1202 Sofia, Bulgaria
Summary of functions
The National Customs Agency is a centralised administrative structure to the Minister of Finance. The Agency is a legal entity - a second-level budget spending unit. Duties and responsibilities:
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protection of the society and the financial interests of the Republic of Bulgaria and the EU;
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support to the competitiveness of the national and the European economic operators;
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facilitation of the legitimate trade;
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control and management of the supply chains used for the international movement of goods;
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maintenance, development and enhancement of the cooperation with the customs authorities of the EU Member States, with other law enforcement authorities, the economic operators and the public;
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delivering of training consistent with the EU standards in the context of the Strategic Customs Competency Framework.
Organigram
Ministry of the Interior
Contact details
Summary of functions
The Minister of the Interior implements the state policy of prevention, counteraction to crime, protection of public order, protection of national security, border control, including migration processes in the Republic of Bulgaria.The General Directorate "Border Police" is responsible for border control.
Organigram
Ministry of Defence, Bulgarian Navy, Hydrographic Service
Contact details
ADDRESS: 16, Preslav street, Varna, 9000, Bulgaria
https://www.mod.bg / www.navy.mod.bg/
Summary of functions
The Minister of Defence manages, coordinates and controls the implementation of the state defence policy of the country, exercising his/her powers under the Law on Defence and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria and under other laws. The Minister of Defence, through the Bulgarian Navy, continuously monitors and informs about the situation in the maritime spaces, exercises control over navigation, carries out humanitarian and evacuation operations, monitors protection of maritime communications and business activities at sea through the operation of a coastal system for communication and information support, manages maritime operations and hydrographic service.
Organigram
Ministry of Environment and Water
Contact details
ADDRESS: 22, Maria Luiza Blvd. 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Summary of functions
The Minister of Environment and Water (MOEW) develops and implements the state policy on environmental protection, as follows:
- develops a legal and strategic framework addressing current challenges, EU objectives and national environmental priorities;
- develops a strategy for the protection of the marine environment in the Black Sea (Maritime Strategy), which is implemented in coordination with the competent ministries and agencies involved in the protection of the marine environment;
- participates in the Advisory and Coordination Council for the Protection of the Environment in the Marine Waters of the Black Sea, as an organ of the Council of Ministers for the management, coordination and control of the implementation of the Marine Strategy and a program of measures aimed at improving ecological status of the marine environment;
- implements environmental sectoral policies;
- creates conditions for environment protection, economic growth and high living standards;
- examines the current state of ecosystems and their impacts;
- provides assistance in the development of ecological infrastructure with the construction of environmentally friendly, high-tech and economically sustainable facilities;
- implements preventive measures and strict control mechanisms for reduction of adverse environmental impacts from sources of different nature;
- provides administrative services, in accordance with the established rules and good practices;
- provides access to up-to-date information on the state of the environment and the current environmental policy;
- implements measures to raise public awareness of environmental policy, environmental education and civic participation.
- In interaction with other sectors of public authority, the MOEW implements proactive policies that contribute to the protection of water, soil, air quality, waste reduction and utilization, adaptation to climate change and efficient use of resources in the country's economic cycle.
Organigram
Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture
Contact details
ADDRESS: 1, Al. Batenberg Blvd., 8000 Burgas, Bulgaria
Summary of functions
The Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture is a budget-supported legal entity - a secondary budget manager to the Minister of Agriculture.
The Agency carries out the activities related to the implementation of the fisheries policy within the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy, the state supervision, the control over the fishing activities, as well as other activities assigned by law or act of the Council of Ministers.
Organigram
National Board for aircraft, maritime and railway accident investigation
Contact details
ADDRESS: 9, Dyakon Ignatiy str., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Summary of functions
The National Board for aircraft, maritime and railway accident investigation is an independent specialized state body of the Council of Ministers.
The Board carries out an investigation activity on:
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aviation occurrences: aviation accidents, serious incidents and incidents involving civil aircraft within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, the territorial waters and the airspace serviced under the international commitments of the Republic of Bulgaria, regardless of the State of registration of the aircraft;
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marine casualties and incidents within the maritime space of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as accidents and incidents involving seagoing ships in the inland waterways of the Republic of Bulgaria, and inland-waterway vessels operating in the internal sea waters and in the territorial sea of the Republic of Bulgaria;
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serious railway accidents, as well as at their own discretion – an investigation of accidents and incidents, which in different circumstances could have led to the effects of serious railway accidents, and of accidents and incidents beyond the indicated.
Organigram