# Mercator Ocean International
*consortium . companies*

## Specifications
- **operator domains**: ["mercator-ocean.eu"]
- **country**: France / European Union
- **website**: https://www.mercator-ocean.eu
- **entity type**: company
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-20
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **attributes**: {"kind":"consortium","operator_domains":"[\"mercator-ocean.eu\"]","country":"France / European Union","website":"https://www.mercator-ocean.eu"}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
Mercator Ocean International is a Toulouse-based non-profit operational-oceanography organisation with French and European member institutions.[^s1][^s2] It was appointed by the European Commission on 11 November 2014 to implement marine analysis and forecasting services, building on an earlier French consortium history in operational oceanography.[^s3][^s4] The organisation does not own or operate satellites. Its buyer-facing role is downstream integration: it ingests multi-satellite ocean observations, including altimetry, sea-surface temperature, ocean-colour, and sea-ice inputs, to produce ocean physics, biogeochemistry, sea-ice, reanalysis, bulletin, and Digital Twin Ocean products.[^s1][^s4] Its legal structure is in transition from non-profit organisation toward an intergovernmental organisation, with a six-state treaty signed in 2022 and a 12-country endorsement at UNOC3 in June 2025.[^s1]

## Sources
- [s1] | Mercator Ocean International - Who We Are | https://www.mercator-ocean.eu/about-us/mercator-ocean/who-we-are/ | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-20
  Member organisations list; legal status non-profit transforming to intergovernmental; 30 years history claim
- [s2] | Ifremer - Mercator Ocean International page | https://www.ifremer.fr/en/mercator-ocean-international | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-20
  Confirms French consortium origins; five founding institutions
- [s3] | European Commission Maritime Forum - Mercator Ocean International | https://maritime-forum.ec.europa.eu/node/932_en | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-20
  EC source confirming appointment 2014-11-11 as CMEMS implementing body
- [s4] | Copernicus Marine Service - About page | https://marine.copernicus.eu/about/ | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-20
  Confirms MOi as delegated entity for CMEMS; service scope (ocean analysis/forecasting)

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/companies/mercator-ocean
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