The project is part of the further development of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), an initiative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) as part of its Marine Knowledge 2020 strategy. The general objective of the project is to facilitate and streamline the process whereby marine data from whatever source (including national monitoring programmes, research projects, licensing data and private companies) is delivered on a voluntary basis for safekeeping to data repositories from where it can be freely disseminated. The current EMODnet Data Ingestion project that the European Commission, represented by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), funded is based on the work done under 2 previous Data Ingestion service contracts (phase I and phase II). The project will be undertaken by a European consortium of overall 43 organisations (marine research institutes, governmental agencies, and SME’s) from 27 coastal countries. The implemented process for data ingestion provides a service for public and private entities, including international and regional organisations, who wish to share their marine data but have not yet been able to do so.The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) is financed by the European Union under Regulation (EU) N. 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.